Children of Kira
by Vexic929
Summary: What if Rem hadn't killed L and L had called in reinforcements? Certain scenes in this story are also in doujinshi form. Be on the lookout for the links!
1. Prologue

**A/N- Ok so I know I royally screwed up the ending of Death Note (actually I completely screwed up everything from the point where L was supposed to die) and I know this idea has been done a million times before but I had to get this out there. Also jsyn, Kai and Keitaro are Light's kids and this is set approximately 18-20 years after that point. Kai is 18 and Keitaro is 13. Hope you enjoy! ^^**

**And here's a link to the prologue in doujinshi form: http:/loves-chihuahuas .deviantart .com/art/Children-of-Kira-Prologue-160968802 (just take away the spaces in between .deviantart and .com and add the second / after http:/) **

* * *

"Kai? I'm having trouble with some homework, will you help me?"

"Sure thing Keitaro, give me just a second."

Kai quickly put away his notebook, walked over, and opened the door.

"So, what do you need help with?"

"I'm trying to write this paper for my literature class but I'm not really sure how to start it."

"Ok, well what are you writing it on?"

"Um…actually I'm not really sure…"

Kai laughed, "you should probably find out, I'll help you when you do ok?"

"Ok, thanks."

Keitaro walked out the door and closed it behind him.

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk.'

"What's so funny Ryuk?"

'Nothing, nothing…you humans are so interesting.'

Kai rolled his eyes, pulled out the Death Note, and began writing where he had left off.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N- So here's chapter 1! Woo-hoo! ^^ And I think I failed to mention in the last chapter but the artist who is doing the doujinshi version of this is Loves-Chihuahuas on deviantArt so it's not me, I'm just writing it. ^^' Anyways, here's the link to the first page of chapter 1 in doujinshi form: http:/loves-chihuahuas .deviantart .com/art/Children-of-Kira-Ch-1-pg-1-165828188 (just take away the spaces in between .deviantart and .com and add the second / after http:/)**

* * *

Touta Matsuda walked into the old Task Force Headquarters with a worried look on his face. It wasn't that he wasn't eager to see his old friends after so many years—he was—he just didn't want to see them under these circumstances.

"Hello Matsuda-san, it's been a while," L greeted him.

Matsuda nodded in his direction, "yeah, it's good to see you Ryuzaki."

"Matsuda, how have you been?" Soichiro Yagami asked standing up and walking over to him.

"Oh, hey chief, I didn't see you there."

"Please Matsuda, I'm retired, I'm not the chief anymore, you don't have to call me that."

"Right…sorry."

"Now all we have to wait for are Aizawa-san and Mogi-san," L said turning to his computer.

Aizawa and Mogi arrived and sat down.

L turned to all of them, "as you all know, there is a new Kira. This new Kira's killing pattern is similar—in fact nearly identical to the previous one's."

"That's weird…how close are they?" Matsuda asked. L turned to his computer and brought up a chart that showed the previous and the current Kira's killing patterns.

"The blue line is the new Kira's killing pattern, the red one is Light's," L stated. At the mention of Light, Aizawa, Mogi, and Matsuda shot a glance at Soichiro. Soichiro, however, didn't seem to notice and was looking at the data intently.

"They're almost perfectly lined up," Soichiro muttered. L nodded.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from the hallway and everyone—with the exception of L—looked up in surprise.

"Get back here you little white-haired twit!"

"Mello, calm down!"

This statement was followed by a string of curse words and the entrance of said "white-haired twit".

"Hello Near," L said. Near nodded in his direction and sat down. A blonde man dressed in black walked in next—while being held back by a red-haired man in a striped shirt, jeans, and goggles.

"Mello, Matt."

"L," they said looking in his direction.

"Gentlemen this is Mello, Near, and Matt, Mello is the blonde, Near is the one with white hair, and Matt is the one with red hair. These three are a few of my successors; should anything ever happen to me one of them will take my place."

Matt finally managed to get Mello to sit down and stop attempting to kill Near and sat down next to him. Near sat on the floor next to the chair Soichiro was sitting in and began building a tower of dice.

"So, as I was saying, the killing patterns are very similar so we are either looking for someone with a similar personality to Light's, someone who knew him well enough to try and copy him, or someone directly related to him," L finished his sentence and glanced at Soichiro.

Soichiro returned the glance looking very annoyed, "you're not saying you think it could be one of my grandsons are you?"

L turned back to the screens, "there is a distinct possibility."

Keitaro stared at the video-feed with a troubled look on his face. When L had told him his suspicions of Kai being Kira he hadn't wanted to believe it but with the truth staring him in the face—he couldn't _not_ believe it. He hadn't wanted to spy on Kai but he had done it because L had told him to and he needed to know for sure. He thought back to what L had told him.

"_You want me to spy on Kai? Why?"_

"_Keitaro, I have reason to believe that Kai may be the new Kira. If you get the evidence we need you'd be saving thousands of lives. I can't spy on Kai because he'd get suspicious. He trusts you."_

"_But…isn't that why I _shouldn't_ be the one to spy on him? I don't wanna betray Kai's trust!"_

"_If you get caught you can blame everything on me, ok?"_

Keitaro looked down at his hands. He actually hadn't thought he'd even be able to get the camera in there. He'd had to think quickly and act the way he normally would even though he was really nervous. He hated how easy it had been to get the camera in place. All it had taken was him brushing up against the light switch and placing it in one of the screws. Kai had been none the wiser. He sighed and looked at the video-feed again.

_I suppose I could just not tell L that he's Kira and if he asks to see the video I could record enough of Kai _not_ doing anything suspicious and just put it in a loop or something…I don't think that trick'll work on L though…I gotta find some way—I don't wanna get Kai in trouble!_

Keitaro jerked when he heard knock on his door.

"Keitaro? Did you still need help with your paper?"

_Oh crap!_

"Uh, nope! I think I got it, thanks anyway Kai!"

"No problem, if you need any help I'll be in my room, but knock first."

"Ok!"

Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Kai walking away.

_That was way too close; if he hadn't knocked I would've been caught spying on him! I don't know how he would've reacted—it kind of…scares me._

Another knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts.

"Hey Keitaro, can I come in?"

Keitaro smiled, "sure Lorelai, you can come in!"

Lorelai walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?" Keitaro asked, his smile faltering a bit.

Lorelai sighed, "look, I know what my dad asked you to do."

Keitaro looked down, "oh…that."

"I don't think my dad was right in asking you to spy on him, but I have to agree that Kai is very suspicious."

Keitaro frowned, "I just don't see how it could be possible, I mean…Kai can be mean and yeah, he's usually angry at everyone but that doesn't mean that he's Kira. He's just confused and upset."

Lorelai sighed, "and this is why my dad shouldn't have told _you_ of all people to spy on him. Keitaro, I think I'll take over spying on him, I don't think you can handle—"

"No! I can handle it! I-if Kai is Kira then I wanna be the first to know…"

Lorelai smiled sadly and hugged him, "ok then. But be sure to let me know if you see Kai doing anything suspicious."

"K, Lorelai, I will."

Lorelai left and Keitaro frowned.

_What am I supposed to do…?_


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N- Sorry people but this chapter, and every chapter after it hasn't been converted into doujinshi form yet. I will post it as soon as it is though! I promise! ^^**

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER

"We're back!"

"Keitaro they already know that, there's surveillance cameras outside."

"I know that, but it's nice to let them know too."

"Whatever…"

Kai walked through the building, cutting through the room where everyone was working.

"Hey granddad, everyone."

"Hey Kai, how was school?" Matsuda asked smiling.

"It was boring, you know, it was school…" He said shrugging.

"I'll be in my room if you need me…"

He stopped in the doorway, "do me a favor—don't need me."

He glared at L before continuing to his room.

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk. You know, you could probably stand to be a little nicer to everyone. Not that I'm complaining; I find your attitude very entertaining. You're a much bigger jerk than your father was.'

"I'm not sure what you're talking about Ryuk, I'm nice to most everyone except for L and Lorelai."

'And those kids in your class at school. Actually, you're a jerk to everyone at school—not just the kids in your class.'

"I'm not a jerk without reason. L is the reason my dad is dead, Lorelai was a jerk to me first, and most of those kids at school mess with my little brother when I'm not around. As I'm sure you can guess, I'm not exactly ok with that," Kai said flipping through random books on his shelf before walking over to his computer chair and sliding to his desk.

"That is so much fun. Anyway, time to get back to work," Kai pulled out the Death Note along with an apple—which he tossed to Ryuk.

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk.'

"_Now_ what's so funny?"

'I was just wondering; how would me eating an apple look to someone if they saw me?'

"Why are you asking that? You already know the answer; it would look as though an apple was floating in mid-air. Besides, no one is going to see you…stupid Shinigami."

He turned to start writing again, then paused and turned back to Ryuk.

"Wait…there's a reason you're asking that isn't there?"

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk.'

"Quit laughing and tell me! Why are you asking that?"

'This just got a whole lot more interesting.'

"There's a camera isn't there? Where is it and how did it get in here?"

Ryuk resumed eating his apple.

Kai threw the notebook at him, "tell me you useless Shinigami! Where is it?"

'What do I get for telling you?'

Kai sighed and rubbed his temples, "I'll…I dunno, I'll give you a week's worth of apples if you tell me where it is and how it got there."

'Hmmm…'

"Fine…how about a month's worth of apples?"

'Now we're talking! The camera's in the top screw in the light switch. Your little brother put it there that day he came in to ask for help with his homework.'

"So…he lied to me…and he's been spying on me? I never would've thought Keitaro had it in him. Ryuk, check to see if there's any more cameras would you?"

'I'm not gonna get my apples if I don't am I?'

"Nope."

L flipped through various video feeds from around the building.

"Keitaro is currently keeping surveillance on Kai, but I'm not entirely sure that he'll let us know if he finds anything against him. Hmmm…"

L put his finger to his lips as he thought, "I'm going to put another camera in his room and keep surveillance myself as well."

"That sounds like a good idea, but I have a question. What makes you think he's Kira? I've noticed that Kai's kind of a bad kid but he honestly reminds me of myself when I was his age," Mello stated leaning back in his chair.

"When you were his age? You act like that now! 18 years and you haven't changed a bit!" Matt said, rolling his eyes.

"Neither have you mister video game addict," Mello stated kicking Matt off of the couch he was sitting on.

"To be completely honest Mello, if I hadn't been so sure that Light was Kira I probably _would_ have suspected you," L said, turning to Mello.

"You would've suspected _me_? One of your own successors? Really?"

"Yes, but there wouldn't have been much of a chance of you being Kira. Besides, I'm not suspicious of Kai just because of his attitude. He is related to the previous Kira; wanting to continue his 'legacy' would only be natural, and he could also be wanting revenge."

"Yeah, that's a good point, guess I didn't think about that…" Mello shrugged and kicked Matt off of the couch again.

"What the heck was that for?"

"I dunno, the heck of it?"

Matt glared at Mello and walked across the room to the chair across from Mello's.

Kai knocked on Keitaro's door, "hey, Keitaro, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, just a second."

Keitaro opened the door and Kai walked in and closed it behind him.

"So…what's up?" Kai asked shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Um…not much…why are you asking?"

"Oh, no reason…just wondering what you've been up to lately."

"Oh…um…I haven't been doing much of anything…just some schoolwork, you know, the usual."

"Right, right…so no extracurricular activities? No girls you're interested in?"

"Um…no not really…well there is this one girl but I haven't even really talked to her…"

"I see…that's interesting…so, speaking of interesting, have you discovered anything interesting while you've been home? Maybe, seen anything that you feel like sharing, I mean with all the cameras around here I'm sure there's gotta be something."

"No…um…not really."

"Really? Because I think you have seen something…something you shouldn't know about."

Keitaro took a few steps back.

"Uh…what do you mean?"

"You've been spying on me Keitaro."

"Wh—what? I…uh…I dunno what you're talking about."

"You left a camera in my room when you asked for help on your 'paper' which, coincidentally, doesn't exist."

"Of—of course it exists!"

"Oh, really? What did you finally choose for a topic?"

"I—uh—I chose…um…"

"And why is it that you were the only one in your class who had a paper to do?"

Keitaro backed up until he hit the wall. Kai walked closer and bent down so they were eye-level.

"The only reason is that it was just an excuse to get into my room to leave a camera so you could spy on me. Isn't that right little brother?"

Keitaro stared at Kai with a panicked expression on his face, gulped, and tried to edge away.

Kai grabbed his wrist, "not so fast. Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. So long as no one finds out what you know everything'll be perfectly fine."

Kai smiled, "breathe little brother, everything's gonna turn out great, you'll see."


	4. Chapter 3

'So, now that Keitaro knows your big secret, what's your plan?'

"Well, naturally, I have to be a little more careful from now on so that no one else finds out. I need to find a place to hide the notebook…"

Kai stuffed the Death Note in his backpack, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the front door.

"Kai, where are you going? You don't need to be at school for another two hours and you're usually late anyway—if you decide to go at all," L said glancing over at him.

"Well, not that it's any of your business, but I thought I'd go visit mom and dad before school started."

Kai walked out the door without waiting for a response.

* * *

Kai sat in front of his father's tombstone and pulled out the notebook.

"It's only fitting that I should hide this close to where my father is buried. The only question is; where should I put it? I'm not going to bury it near his grave; someone would be bound to notice that. There's gotta be someplace around here where I can put it."

Kai glanced around the graveyard. He put the notebook back in the bag, stood, and walked toward a tree a few feet away.

"Hmmm…if there's a hole somewhere around here, either in the tree or below it, that would be perfect."

After a few minutes of searching he sighed and leaned against the tree.

"Got any suggestions Ryuk?"

'If you're looking for a tree to hide it in, I suggest an apple tree.'

Kai rolled his eyes and bent down to look near the roots.

"Doesn't look like Mother Nature wants me to hide it here…"

Kai reached up, grabbed a branch, and began to climb the tree.

'What are you doing? I thought you didn't want to draw attention to yourself.'

"Relax Ryuk, I used to do this all the time when I was younger, no one'll think it's strange if they seem me climbing it now, and if I recall, there's a hole up here somewhere…ah! Here it is!"

Kai sat on a branch, wedged his bag between two other branches, and pulled out the Death Note.

"Now, if I remember correctly, I can tear out pages and use them, right? Why am I asking? I already know the answer and you wouldn't tell me anyway!"

Kai tore out a few pages and pulled out his binder.

"I have enough normal pieces of paper in this that a few more normal-looking pieces won't seem out of the ordinary. And on the off-chance that L decided to count how many pages I had in here—I'm not sure why he would but it's entirely possible—I am going to make sure I take as many pages out as I put in."

Kai took a few pages out of the binder and replaced them with the pages from the Death Note.

"I am also going to tear off little bits of the notebook and hide them elsewhere so I always have a piece with me."

'How interesting, your father did the same thing!'

"He did the binder thing?"

'No, he tore off little bits of the notebook and hid them in different places.'

"Where did he hide them?"

'His watch, his wallet, places like that.'

"Thanks for telling me Ryuk, oddly enough you actually helped me."

'Not my intention.'

"I'm aware of that."

Kai tore off the corners of a few pages, stuffed them in his jacket pocket, and put the notebook in the hole.

"Now to make sure no one notices it…"

He jumped down, picked up a few leaves, climbed back up, and stuffed the hole with it.

"That ought to do it."

He grabbed his backpack, tossed it down, and jumped down after it.

"Now…where exactly should I hide the pieces of the notebook? Hmmm…I think I'll try to figure that out later, they should be safe in my pocket for now, my cell phone should keep them from falling out."

Kai walked back over to his father's tombstone.

"Here's to keeping your dream a reality dad," he muttered, touching the grave marker before walking on to school.

* * *

"Hey, Keitaro! Wait up!"

Keitaro turned around to face Matsuda's daughter, Kiyoko.

"Um…hi," he said blushing.

"Mind if I walk with you to school? Daddy told me to walk with someone so I'd be safer."

"S-sure Kiyoko," he said as his blush darkened.

"Great!"

She smiled and they started walking.


	5. Chapter 4

Kiyoko and Keitaro walked together in silence for a while until they reached the school grounds.

"Thanks for walking with me Keitaro, we should walk together more often," she said smiling as she started to walk away.

"Hey, Yagami!"

Keitaro was grabbed roughly by the shoulders and turned forcefully around to face a group of tall sixteen-year-olds.

"H-hey Shinobu…"

"So, where's your big brother geek?"

"He's…he's not here…"

"Aw, so the baby has no one to save him? Great! That'll make this a whole lot easier!"

Shinobu shoved him and he tripped and fell backwards.

He raised a fist.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Kiyoko yelled running towards them.

"Well whadoyou know? His little girlfriend's gonna try and help him."

"Kiyoko, what are you doing?"

"Saving you, that's what!"

"Don't worry about me, I can handle it!"

"Keitaro, don't be stupid, you'll be pummeled!"

"I know but…I don't want you to get hurt too…"

Kiyoko frowned, "Keitaro…"

"Go Kiyoko! I can handle this!"

"Ok…I'm gonna go find a teacher…and maybe the nurse!"

Kiyoko ran off towards the school.

Shinobu turned back to Keitaro, "now, where were we?"

* * *

Kai took his time walking to school. He wasn't sure why he was even going; he rarely showed up for regular school, he usually just went on test days. He shifted his bag to his left shoulder and picked up his pace. If he was going to school today he might as well show up soon enough to have some time to talk to his girlfriend. Kai arrived at school and walked to his locker.

"Hey you," Kai's girlfriend, Yori, said throwing her arms around her boyfriend's neck. He put his arms around her waist and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"How come you never call me or come visit me anymore?" She asked frowning.

"I'm sorry Yori; I've just been really busy lately. Ryuzaki won't let me out of his sight!"

"That creepy guy that's taking care of you and Keitaro?"

"Yep, that's him."

Yori glanced out the window, "hey, isn't that Keitaro getting beat up by Shinobu?"

Kai glared out the window, "yeah…that idiot never learns; I'll be back in a minute…"

Kai sprinted out the door and ran over to Keitaro and Shinobu, "hey!"

Kai grabbed Shinobu by the collar and shoved him into a wall.

"What did I tell you about messing with my little brother?"

"Oh hey Yagami, we were just kidding around, weren't we guys? Heh…no need to get all riled up about it…"

"Oh yeah? If you were just messing around then I'm sure you wouldn't mind me doing to you what you were doing to Keitaro then huh?"

"Don't Kai."

Kai turned as Keitaro stood up and wiped the blood off of his mouth.

"Don't worry about it, you beating them up isn't going to solve anything and you can't afford to get in any more trouble."

Kai let go of Shinobu's collar and he and his friends ran into the school building. Kai bent and picked up Keitaro's broken glasses and handed them to him.

"Looks like I'm going to need a new pair huh?"

"Wish I'd gotten here sooner, I could've stopped them before they even started, either way somebody needs to teach those jerks a lesson, didn't anybody try to help you?" Kai asked examining Keitaro's eye, which was quickly turning a dark purple color.

"Kiyoko did but I told her to leave, I didn't want her to get hurt too."

"Kiyoko…that's Matsuda's kid right? Is she the girl you were talking about, the one you like?"

Keitaro looked down and nodded, blushing.

Kai smiled, "sounds like you picked a good girl if she's willing to stand up for you like that. C'mon, let's go to the nurse's office. I'll find a way to teach those jerks a lesson later," Kai offered his hand and Keitaro hesitated before taking it.

_He said he wanted to teach them a lesson, how far is he willing to go? He won't kill them will he? He's not _that _evil…Keitaro! He's your brother! Why are you even thinking like that? Stop that! Kai wouldn't go that far…he won't…I—I know he won't…will he?_


	6. Chapter 5

Oh dear, I'm so sorry my faithful subscribers, I've been terrible about updating this (or anything for that matter). Also, I feel I should inform you that this will not be in doujinshi form other than a few important scenes (which I will post links to when needed).

* * *

Kai brought Keitaro home and told him to sit down while he went to get ice for his eye. Lorelai walked in and was about to say something sarcastic when she saw Keitaro.

"Oh my gosh! Keitaro, what happened? Are you ok? What did Kai do?"

"Lorelai, it wasn't Kai…"

"Oh…well you still need to answer my other two questions!"

"I was beat up by a bunch of guys at school but I'm fine—Kai stopped them before they could do any real damage…"

"Oh, Keitaro! C'mon, I'll take you to my mom—she's in the kitchen making tea for everyone on the Task Force right now—she'll get you patched up in no time. Then we can go talk to dad about getting you some new glasses."

Kai walked into the kitchen as L's wife, Zoe, was making tea.

"Hey Zoe."

"Oh, hello Kai, what are you doing in here? You almost never go anywhere in this building other than your room."

"I needed some ice."

"For what?"

At that moment Lorelai walked in with Keitaro.

"Oh my gosh! Keitaro sweetie, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Zoe."

"I suppose now that he's in here I don't need to get ice for him. I'm heading out then."

"Where are you going?" Lorelai asked, glaring at him suspiciously.

"I told my girlfriend that I'd meet her at the library, she wanted me to help her out with a project she's working on."

"Which girlfriend?"

"Lorelai, I only have one…at the moment…" Kai muttered the last part as he grabbed his bag and left.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "how on Earth is your brother so immature Keitaro? I just don't understand it!"

Yori greeted Kai at the door of the library by tackling him in a hug.

"Oof! Hey Yori…mind getting off of me?"

Yori giggled, stood, and helped Kai up.

"Thanks,"

"No problem, so I need to go find a couple of books but after that maybe we could head over to my place and you can help me with my project."

"That sounds good, I need to look up something on one of these computers anyway so don't worry about rushing to find your books. I'll meet you back out here when I'm finished ok?"

"Ok," Yori said, smiling as she walked into the library.

Kai walked over to a computer away from everyone else and, after booting it up, brought up the internet.

_It shouldn't be too hard to find some information on Shinobu…hmmm…ha! Here it is, what a joke! Is there no security keeping people from looking at his personal files?_

Kai scrolled down, reading through his whole file.

_Dang! His criminal record is clean—minus some small crimes. If I killed him that would be way too obvious. He's too close and it's completely out of the ordinary for Kira to kill people for small crimes. Guess I'll just have to teach him a lesson the old fashioned way…well, while I'm here why don't I just look up some recently caught criminals and take care of them, better than doing nothing…_

Kai pulled out his binder and started writing.

Lorelai sat in a chair in the library. Anyone who passed by would think she was just another student studying—in reality, she was spying on Kai.

_What is he doing? He's just writing some stuff in a binder! Surely if he was Kira he wouldn't be stupid enough to bring the notebook with him, would he? Then again…if I was so sure of that why the heck would I even be here? But in _public_? _Really_?_ _I guess I'll have to check that out later…oh joy, here comes his girlfriend_…

Yori walked over to Kai.

_Ok, he's seriously not stupid enough to write in the Death Note and then show _Yori_ is he? That girl can't keep her mouth shut about anything! Well this proves it, he really _is_ an idiot._

Yori and Kai left the library and Lorelai followed them all the way to Yori's house.

_I guess this is as far as I'm going. There is_ no_ way I'm following them into her house, I don't _want _to know what they'll be doing in there…_


	7. Chapter 6

Lorelai walked into the building as everyone (with the exception of L, Mello, Matt, and Near) was packing up to leave.

"Hey Lorelai."

"Hey Matt."

"So, make any progress with your little espionage adventure?"

"Not sure yet, I'll know when he gets back though."

"That sounds promising," Matt smiled, "sounds like you did good, well I'm gonna head outside for a smoke."

Lorelai smiled and shook her head as he walked out the door, "still haven't gotten him to break that disgusting habit have you Mello?"

"Hey! I'm working on it! Do you know how hard it was to get him to stop playing his stupid games long enough to help us on this case? Him breaking his habits is like me not eating chocolate! It's not possible!"

"Fair enough…tell him that girls don't like kissing ashtrays, knowing Matt that ought to convince him…or in the very least it might get him to smoke less."

"Duly noted."

Kai chose that moment to walk in.

"Mello, Near, witch," he said greeting everyone in the room other than L.

He dropped his bag by the door and continued to his room. Lorelai rolled her eyes and went to pick up his bag.

"I'll be in my room if you need me, hopefully whatever's in here will prove he's Kira."

"Good luck Lorelai," Near said, putting the finishing touches on his tower of dice before Mello decided to knock it over with a swift kick.

Lorelai sat down cross-legged on her bed and pulled out Kai's binder.

"Here's hoping I'm right about this…"

She took a deep breath and opened the binder, flipping through the pages. She frowned and flipped through the pages again, making sure not to miss a single page.

"What the…there's nothing but stupid research for his girlfriend's project! Dang it!"

She threw the binder across the room and flopped back ungracefully onto her bed.

"All that work for nothing, I thought for sure I had him…" She sighed, picked up the binder and put it back in his bag.

"Better go put this back before he realizes it's missing."

Kai lay on his back in his bed with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

_Poor Lorelai, I almost feel sorry for her. She was so close, if she hadn't followed me to Yori's house I wouldn't have ever noticed she was following me to begin with. It's better she did though, I would never have had enough time to replace the pages in my binder again if she hadn't._

With that thought in mind, he turned on his side and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 7

"_Daddy! Watch this!"_

_Five year old Kai ran out to the ocean and jumped, doing a cannonball in the shallow water._

_Light ran over and picked up his little son, "that's very cool Kai, I'm proud of you."_

_Kai yawned and closed his eyes, "daddy, I'm sleepy."_

"_Are you ready to go then?"_

"_No, I just want to close my eyes for a minute and then I wanna play some more in the water."_

_Light smiled and carried his son to his car to take him home._

Kai woke up with the memory fresh in his mind.

_Wow…I haven't thought of that in a while…I wonder why I dreamt about that…_

Kai got up, went through his morning routine, and headed downstairs.

Keitaro rushed through the headquarters without saying a word and headed out the door to go to school.

Near twirled a lock of hair between his fingers before stating; "I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed, but it seems that Keitaro has become increasingly distant."

Mello nodded, "for once I agree with you, usually he talks non-stop to everyone, he _always_ has something to say. Lately he hasn't said much of anything unless someone talks to him first."

L turned to face them, "perhaps one of you three should talk to him and try to figure out why he's been acting so strangely."

"I'm guessing you already know why he's acting that way?"

Mello asked raising an eyebrow.

L turned back to the monitors, "I can think of a few reasons."

Mello looked at Near and Matt, "I think I'd be one of the worst people to talk to him and Near wouldn't help either, so I elect Matt to talk to him."

Matt glanced up from his video game.

"M'kay, I'll talk to him when he comes back from school today."

Kiyoko sat in the classroom staring at Keitaro.

_He seems so sad! I wish there was something I could do…but I don't know what's wrong and he would just say that he was fine if I asked…I'd ask Kai but I'm kind of scared to._

She frowned and gathered her things as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"Hey Keitaro, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh s-sure Kiyoko."

"Is everything ok? You seem kind of down."

"Yeah of course, everything's fine!"

Kiyoko frowned for a second and then smiled, "well…ok, if you're sure…"

She stood, thinking for a second before kissing him on the cheek and quickly running out of the classroom blushing. Keitaro stood in shock, his cheeks burning bright red.

Kai sat staring at his father's gravestone and thought back to the dream.

…_are you still proud of me dad? Am I doing what you want me to do?_

'You sure do come here a lot Kai, are you waiting for something?'

"No, I just like coming here to think. It's quiet and no one'll bother me—well, other than you anyway."

'So, what's your next move?'

"I suppose I'll have to find a way to draw the attention away from myself. With Lorelai following me every once in a while and L doing surveillance it's getting harder and harder to find time to write in the Death Note, the only question is—how to do it?"

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk. Something tells me things are about to get a whole lot more interesting.'

Keitaro walked into the headquarters, still mildly shocked about the kiss Kiyoko gave him.

"Hey Keitaro, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Keitaro looked up at Matt and nodded. Matt and Keitaro walked through the halls of the building.

"So…how's school going?"

"…it's going pretty good, I've been doing well and I haven't been picked on very much since Kai talked to Shinobu."

"That's good…so is there anything you want to talk about? You've been kinda quiet and quite frankly we're all starting to get a little worried."

"Oh! No, everything's fine, I just haven't had much to talk about!"

"Really? You sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me!"

Keitaro smiled and Matt smiled back.

"'Kay kid, if you're sure," Matt ruffled Keitaro's hair and walked to his room.


	9. Chapter 8

Kiyoko knocked on the doors of the Task Force headquarters and Mello answered the door.

"Hey Kiyoko."

"Hello Mello-san! Is my dad upstairs?" She asked bowing quickly.

"Yep, you need to talk to him?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well then, follow me."

Kiyoko took off her shoes and Mello took her through security and then upstairs.

Matsuda turned around as his daughter entered the room.

"Hey Kiyoko, what are you doing here?"

"Hi daddy, mom wanted to know if you were coming home for dinner."

"Oh, well I was planning on working late."

"It's fine Matsuda-san you can go home and eat with your family."

"Are you sure Ryuzaki?"

"Yes, we'll be fine here. Yagami-san and Aizawa-san were also planning on staying late, not to mention Mello, Matt, and Near will be here."

"Ok, I guess I'm coming home for dinner then."

Kiyoko smiled and nodded, "oh and I was wondering if I could maybe invite Keitaro for dinner tonight."

Matsuda smiled and patted his daughter on the head, "I don't see why not."

"Yay! Thanks daddy!"

"His room is down the hall on the left."

"Thank you Ryuzaki-san!"

Kiyoko reached Keitaro's room, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Keitaro?"

Keitaro opened the door with a surprised look on his face.

"Kiyoko?"

He blushed, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to come to my house for dinner?"

"Uh…sure! That sounds great!"

Keitaro smiled and Kiyoko smiled back.

"Great! Let's go!"

"Right now?"

"Of course silly!"

"Oh…ok!"

She grabbed his wrist and they left on their way to her house.

"Mom! Daddy's coming home and Keitaro Yagami is here for dinner too!"

"Ok sweetie, dinner will be ready soon!"

"C'mon Keitaro, let's go to the living room until dinner's ready."

Keitaro followed Kiyoko to the living room and sat down on the couch next to her.

"So…how is everything going?" Kiyoko asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Things are going pretty good…"

"Um…how's the Kira case going? I don't get to hear much about it, daddy doesn't tell me anything."

"Oh…uh…Ryuzaki is doing surveillance on his primary suspect but he hasn't found anything."

"Who's his suspect?"

"…Kai…"

"Oh…that's not good…but at least he hasn't found anything against him right?"

"Yeah…"

_Oops! That wasn't a good topic…I need to think of something else to talk about…c'mon Kiyoko you can think of something!_

"So…do you wanna watch TV Keitaro?"

"Sure."

Kiyoko flipped on the television.

'_There were twelve more criminals found dead today, police suspect Kira was involved…'_

Kiyoko quickly changed the channel.

'_In a recent poll, 86% of people said they supported Kira…'_

She changed the channel again.

'_In other news, Kira…'_

'_So, how do you feel about Kira?'_

'_Where do you stand on the Kira debate?'_

'_Kira…'_

'_Kira'_

'_Kira'_

'_Kira'_

' _Spongebob Squarepants!__'_

_This should be ok…_ Kiyoko thought to herself.

'_Don't miss tonight's special Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Kids Talk About the Kira Case.'_

Kiyoko turned the TV off.

"Maybe we could play a board game?"

She giggled nervously.

"Kids! Dinner's ready!"

The family sat down at the table and started eating, Kiyoko's parents talked and joked around and by the end of the meal, everyone was laughing. _So this is what it's like to act like a family…I was five years old the last time I did that—I forgot how nice it was…_

Keitaro smiled as he thought to himself. Kiyoko's mom got up to clear the table.

"Would you like some help with the dishes?"

"Oh no, I've got it but thank you for offering Keitaro."

Matsuda stood and put a hand on Keitaro's shoulder.

"C'mon Keitaro, Kiyoko, let's go play a game."

Matsuda pulled out "Jinsei Game" and—after a quick explanation of the rules—they set it up and began playing.

Matsuda pulled up to the Task Force headquarters.

"Thank you for dropping me off Matsuda-san. I had a great time."

"No problem Keitaro, it was great having you over. You should come again sometime."

Keitaro smiled, exited the car, and walked through the doors.

_So Kai is the Kira suspect…hmmm…Kai as Kira? It's possible…and if Keitaro knows then it would explain why he's been so depressed lately. But Kai has never seemed evil—sure he's angry and kind of scary but not evil…maybe I should talk to Keitaro—no, no, no that's a terrible idea! If I wanna know for sure I'll have to find out myself._

Kiyoko sighed, turned out the light, and went to sleep.


	10. Chapter 9

Kai walked up to Yori and grabbed her hand.

"Yori, can I talk to you in private for a second?"

Yori looked at her friends and then back to Kai, "ok!"

Kai led her to an empty park bench and they both sat down.

"Yori, I need to ask you something but first I need you to promise me that you can keep everything I tell you a secret."

Yori nodded, "I promise, what is it Kai?"

"Alright, first off, are you on L's side or Kira's side?"

"Whichever side you're on."

_Well, that makes it easy doesn't it?_

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Ok, you can't tell anyone but I'm on Kira's side. Everyone else has to think I'm on L's side though, alright?"

Yori nodded again.

"So that means that you're on Kira's side but everyone thinks you're on L's side right?"

"Mmhmm!"

_I couldn't have possibly picked a ditzier girlfriend…_

"Alright, now here's the thing you absolutely cannot tell anyone or I will most likely die. You don't want that to happen do you?"

Yori gasped, "no! Of course not! I swear, I will keep it a secret forever!"

"You won't tell anyone no matter what happens?"

"No!"

Kai hesitated, "alright then…I'm Kira."

"O-M-G!"

"Shhh!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Ok, now Yori, listen carefully, I need your help. Ryuzaki is keeping tight surveillance on me, I have people following me, cameras in my room, and who knows what else. It's getting harder for me to kill criminals and if Kira suddenly stops as he's keeping surveillance then I'll be as good as caught. I need you to take the Death Note and kill criminals for me while I can't. Can you do that?"

"Absolutely! Anything for you Kai!"

"Remember, you can't tell anyone, not your friends, not your parents, not your little sister. Understand?"

"Mmhmm!"

"All right…I'll give you the Death Note at your house later tonight."

"Ok!"

Kai kissed her quickly on the cheek and walked away.

* * *

Kai climbed the tree in the graveyard, pulled out the Death Note, and stuffed it in his bag.

'So, do you have a reason for choosing the dumbest girl you know to use the Death Note? I thought your aim was to _not_ get caught and Yori is dumber than Misa was!'

"Relax Ryuk, I chose her specifically because I _know_ she'll screw up. She'll get caught as Kira and she'll deny that I ever had anything to do with it. So long as I act like I love her then she'll do anything I say. This is just to temporarily—or, if I'm lucky permanently—throw the suspicion off of me."

Kai jumped out of the tree.

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk, you're worse than your father was!'

"I'm not sure whether or not to take that as a compliment when it's coming from you…"

Ryuk laughed as Kai started on his way to Yori's house.

* * *

Kai rung the doorbell and Yori's little sister answered.

"Hi Satomi, is Yori home?"

"Depends, how much is it worth to you?"

"Satomi! Don't treat your sister's boyfriend that way!"

"Sorry mom…"

Kai stood in the doorway looking at Satomi.

She rolled her eyes, "fine…Yori! Your boyfriend is here!"

"Thanks kid."

"I'm not a kid! I'm eight years old!"

"And I'm eighteen, sorry but you're still a kid to me."

Satomi frowned and went into the family room to watch TV.

Yori met Kai in the hallway.

"Sorry it took so long for me to get downstairs."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"It's fine, so are you ready?"

"Mmhmm," she led Kai upstairs to her room and closed and locked the door. Kai set his bag down and pulled out the Death Note.

"I should warn you ahead of time. The second you touch this you'll see a Shinigami. His name is Ryuk and I know he looks creepy but don't freak out ok?"

Yori nodded and Kai handed her the notebook.

Yori glanced at Ryuk and it took everything she had not to scream.

"So…does this thing always follow you?" Yori asked, not taking her eyes off of the Shinigami.

"Pretty much…" Kai answered nonchalantly.

"So…then…even while we're together?"

"For the most part, yeah."

"Oh! How embarrassing!"

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk, relax, I usually fly off somewhere, I don't want to see the two of you kissing or anything. That's not interesting to me.'

"Oh…that's good then."

"Now Yori, I need you to listen to my instructions very carefully ok? You need to remember everything I tell you and I might give you more instructions later on, alright?"

Yori nodded.

"Ok, now you probably already know this but any person whose name you write in the Death Note will die and you can't take it back. However, if you misspell anyone's name four times they can never be killed by a Death Note and if you misspell their name four times on purpose _you_ will die so you have to make sure you're spelling their name right."

"Is there any way I can make sure? I don't want to make a mistake like that!"

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk, well, there is one way. You could always make the trade.'

"What trade?"

Kai sighed and leaned back in his chair, "you can make a trade with Ryuk for Shinigami eyes which will allow you to see the name and lifespan of any person simply by looking at their face—unless they have a Death Note, in which case you will only be able to see their name. Also you can't see the name or lifespan of someone who has already died and you can't see your own lifespan, that would allow you to know when you'll die and it's hard to tell what a person would do if they knew they were going to die. The only problem with the deal is that it costs half your lifespan. I don't advise making the trade unless it's absolutely necessary."

"You're right Kai, I won't make the trade, at least not yet…if worse comes to worse then I will but not right now."

"Alright, as I was saying, you should also only kill criminals—and make sure they're not petty criminals like pickpockets or shoplifters. Try only to kill the big ones like murderers, rapists, drug dealers, people like that. And don't forget to hide it, if anyone gets a hold of it, they'll see Ryuk—not to mention they'll have all the evidence they need to convict you."

"Ok…um, I was wondering…what should I do if I get caught?"

"If you get caught then I will try my best to convince them you're innocent but never admit to being Kira and absolutely do _not_ tell them anything about me being Kira. I'm the number one suspect right now and if they get anything against me then I'm as good as dead. If they ask about me convince them I'm innocent alright?"

"Of course! I'll do anything if it keeps you from getting caught as Kira!"

"Good, thank you so much Yori."

And with that, Kai kissed her and left, leaving Ryuk laughing and her staring at the notebook.


	11. Chapter 10

L looked thoughtfully at the new information that Matsuda had brought in.

"Hmmm…" he put his thumb to his lips and stirred his tea as he thought.

He took a sip, "Zoe, could you please bring me some more sugar?"

"Of course, I'll be right back."

He turned to everyone, "it seems that Kira's killing pattern has changed slightly."

Everyone stared at him.

"This gives me reason to believe that Kira has given ownership of the Death Note to someone else. That being said, I believe it is safe to assume that if we find this other person then we will soon after find the original Kira."

Zoe walked in and set the bowl of sugar down, "thank you Zoe."

He turned back to his tea and began putting spoonfuls of sugar in it.

"Now, I suppose it would only make sense that our new task is to find this new Kira and catch them. Aizawa-san, you have been the one following Kai for the past month correct?"

"Yes, why?"

"I need you to make a list of people he's talked to recently, especially those he's talked to in private. And also, let me know if his behavior has suddenly changed at all. If you will recall, anyone who gives up ownership of the Death Note forgets anything to do with it so if he gave it up most likely his behavior will have changed—at least slightly."

"But Ryuzaki, we don't know that Kai is—or was Kira for sure so it doesn't make much sense just to look at the people he's talked to. Shouldn't we focus more on finding people whose behavior matches this new killing pattern?"

L thought for a minute, "very well Matsuda-san. You can be in charge of finding people whose behavioral and social patterns line up with Kira's killing pattern."

Matsuda nodded and everyone got to work.

* * *

Yori sighed and closed the Death Note, "that should be enough for now…hey Ryuk?"

'Hm?'

"Can I ask you something?"

'Well…you can ask but I can't guarantee I'll give you an answer.'

"I'm just a bit confused…aren't I technically only borrowing the notebook?"

'Sorta.'

"But then…you said I could make the eye-trade, and in the rules it says that if you're not the owner you can't make the trade."

'Well, Kai gave you ownership of the notebook so you _are_ the owner. The only reason Kai still has his memory is because he has pieces of the notebook hidden with him and he makes sure that at least one piece is touching him at all times. So he won't lose his memories and he can still kill people if he needs to but you are officially the owner now.'

"Oh…ok then, thank you Ryuk."

'Hey, that bit of information is gonna cost you.'

Yori laughed, "ok, I'll go downstairs and get you an apple."

She hid the Death Note and left her room.

Kai leaned back in his chair and flipped through the newspaper.

_I'm surprised; Yori's doing a much better job at this than I expected. I thought it would take her days to even get started but she started right away and it took a couple of weeks for L to even notice the change in the pattern…I wonder how this will all play out…_


	12. Chapter 11

_Five-year-old Kai stood behind his mother, staring at L._

"_Melina, perhaps you should have Sayu watch Kai and Keitaro while we discuss this particular issue."_

"_Alright, come on Kai, let's go see Aunt Sayu."_

_Melina called Sayu and a few minutes later she was sitting outside the headquarters waiting for them._

"_Thank you so much for watching them on such short notice."_

"_Oh, it's no problem at all."_

_Melina handed Keitaro to Sayu._

"_Alright Kai, you be good for Aunt Sayu ok?"_

"_Ok mom."_

_Melina walked back in the building. An hour later Kai picked up the phone at his aunt's house to listen in on the conversation she was having with his mom._

"_L found evidence…Light is Kira."_

"_Oh no, not Light!"_

"_Unfortunately yes…L apprehended him a few minutes ago with the help of Mello…he plans on giving him the death sentence."_

_Kai hung up the phone._

Daddy's Kira? _He thought to himself, _why would he do bad things like that? Killing people is wrong! I thought he was working to keep people from doing bad things…

Kai shook himself back to reality and pulled out his phone.

_Eleven forty-five pm huh? Guess I should start heading back now…_

Kai stood and stretched as he thought.

"'Night dad, guess I'll see you later."

He walked away from the gravestone and headed back towards the headquarters.

He shivered and shoved his hands in his pockets.

_Someone's following me…_he turned around and didn't see anything. He turned back around to face the barrel of a gun.

_Dang it!_

"Where'd you get a gun Shinobu?"

"Shut up."

_What the heck can I do? I can't kill him, that would make me even more suspicious and I don't know what he's going to do…heck, I don't even know if he knows how to work a gun!_

"Look…Shinobu just take it easy alright? No need to get violent…"

_Hmmm…this could actually work to my advantage…I just need to play my cards right…_

Kai lifted his hands and took a step back.

"Now, what's all this about Shinobu?"

"I hear your old man was Kira."

"That…may or may not be true…"

"My dad was in prison for a crime he didn't commit…Kira killed my dad."

"And this includes me how?"

"Your dad killed my dad, so I'm gonna kill you."

"Yeah…that makes perfect sense…"

Kai took a step forward and attempted pushed the gun away from him with his left hand. Shinobu pushed against Kai's hand and shot Kai in the shoulder and Kai fell to the ground. Shinobu dropped the gun and stared at Kai. Then he turned and bolted in the opposite direction. Kai cursed through his teeth and pressed the button on his belt.

* * *

Matt jumped as the alarm on the computer went off.

"Crap! L, Kai's belt is sending out a distress signal."

Mello, L, and Near turned slowly to look at Matt.

"I'm serious…"

"It would appear so," L flipped off the alarm and handed the keys to Matt.

"Matt, you drive, Mello, call the police and an ambulance. I assume we're going to need it."

Matt pulled up next to the sidewalk where Kai was laying.

Mello let out a low whistle, "maybe we _will_ need that ambulance…"

They got out of the car and Matt and Mello helped Kai sit up while L inspected his wound.

"It seems that he hit a crucial artery…"

L began to clean and bandage the wound.

"Who shot you?"

"That idiot Shinobu."

Matt looked at Kai, confused, "but I thought his deal was picking on Keitaro, surely he…Kai?"

Kai blacked out in the middle of Matt's sentence. Mello cursed under his breath. The ambulance arrived with the police right behind them and the emergency medical technicians took over making sure Kai was ok.

_How strange, even when Kai was faced with possible death, he didn't kill Shinobu. He could have easily made his death look like it was not out of the ordinary. Though, I suppose getting shot could work to his advantage. He could gain sympathy from others…but why would he go so far? That shot could have killed him if it had been even slightly off. I don't believe Kai would go to those lengths simply to gain sympathy—he might risk the life…or even kill someone he seems close to intentionally but not himself. This doesn't seem to fit his personality. Perhaps he isn't Kira…at least at the moment. _L thought through this as Matt talked with the police and Mello attempted not to be recognized by them.

One of the younger EMTs walked up to him, "is he your son?"

L nodded.

"He's going to be fine; he'll need surgery to fix the artery and his collarbone and he'll be sore for quite a while but after that he should be back to normal. He should be able to go back to school in a couple of weeks."

"Thank you, we will follow you to the hospital."

"Hanataro!"

The young EMT turned around and an older EMT gestured for him to come back to the ambulance. He ran over, got in the back, and shut the door. L got in the car and Matt and Mello took the hint and got in the car as well.

* * *

Kai lay in the hospital bed, flipping through the TV channels with the remote in his right hand and his left arm in a sling.

_I wonder how long it'll take before Yori finds out what happened…_

He sighed and set down the remote.

A nurse walked in the room, "Yagami-san, you have a visitor."

He sat up, "who is it?"

Keitaro walked in and the nurse left the room.

"Hey Kai, how're you feeling?"

"I'm alright, don't worry about me."

Keitaro pulled a chair up to Kai's right side and sat down.

He looked at Kai's shoulder, "I knew Shinobu was a jerk but…I never thought he'd go this far…"

Kai smiled and put a hand on Keitaro's shoulder, "don't worry about it Keitaro. You won't have to worry about him anymore."

Keitaro's breath caught in his throat.

_What does he mean by that? Shinobu will be arrested so he could easily kill him without it being out of the ordinary…but he doesn't have the notebook does he?_

L walked in and sat in the chair next to Keitaro. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could Yori burst in the room.

"Oh my gosh, Kai! Are you ok?"

She hugged him tightly.

"Ah! Ow, Yori let go!"

She let go automatically, "I am so sorry! I was just so worried about you!"

He sighed, _if she wasn't so useful I swear…_

Yori sat on the bed, sitting on the remote and turning up the TV as she did so.

'_In other news, a high school student named Shinobu Kuraki was charged and convicted with the attempted murder of a fellow classmate, Kai Yagami…'_

"It was Shinobu?"

Kai nodded. She hugged him around the waist and put her head on his good shoulder.

_Really? Why won't she just write his name down and get it over with? I assumed that as soon as she learned who it was who shot me she'd automatically kill him…_

She kissed him on the cheek and stood.

"Mom said I could visit you for a little bit but I have to go back home now, I love you, feel better!"

She left and Kai sighed in relief.

_Alright, I made sure it would be announced while I was in the room. Now what will he do? _L thought as Yori left the room.

L pressed the nurse button on the hospital bed. A few moments later she entered the room.

"You called Yagami-san?"

"Kai would like a cup of tea with sugar please."

Kai stared at L as if to say "what the heck?"

"Of course," the nurse said and left the room.

"You've got to be kidding," Kai said rolling his eyes.

'…_I have just received word that the student charged with attempted murder, Shinobu Kuraki, has been found dead. The paramedics say it was a heart attack, the police suspect it was Kira._

Everyone stared at the TV.

_It's about time_, Kai thought, fighting back a smirk.

_He must have given the notebook to someone else…either Keitaro or Yori and it couldn't have been Keitaro…_L thought, looking at Kai suspiciously.

Keitaro looked from the TV to Kai to L and then back to the TV, _was it Yori? Did Kai give the notebook to her?_

The nurse brought in the tea, handed it to Kai, and left the room. L stood, took the tea from Kai, and sat back down.

_That's weird, I was sure L was going to say something about Shinobu…either pertaining to me being Kira or someone else being Kira…_

Kai stared at L.

"Is something wrong Kai?" L asked as he sipped his tea.

"No, I was just expecting a snide comment or a deduction or percentage or something…"

"Hm…very well, clearly you could not have killed Shinobu however that does not clear my suspicions of you being Kira. You could have given the notebook to someone else temporarily."

Kai sighed, "first of all, I'm not Kira, I've told you that a million times. Secondly, what's the percentage now?"

"Five percent."

Kai sighed again, "well, that's better than last time…so if you think I was Kira and I gave the notebook to someone, who do you think I gave it to?"

"Perhaps Keitaro or Yori and considering Keitaro was in the room with us I believe it was Yori."

"You suspect Yori? There's no way she has anything to do with this!"

"What makes you so sure?"

"Well…I…"

L's cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ryuzaki, this is Matsuda."

"I am well aware of who you are Matsuda-san."

"Right, well anyway, we kept surveillance on Yori like you asked and we got a video of her right before she left the hospital writing in a notebook that looked a lot like a Death Note."

"Thank you, please ask Mogi-san and Aizawa-san to assist you in apprehending her."

L hung up the phone and stood.

"It appears that Yori may have had something to do with it after all. We will question her and let you know what we find out later."

"No way, I want to be there when you question her, if you're questioning her now then I'm going with you."

"You're not going anywhere until you're healed."

"Then you're not questioning her until I'm healed."

"That is not your choice to make."

Kai glared at L.

"I'm going with you."

Kai stood and L pushed the button for the nurse.

She walked in, "what is it Yagami-san?"

"Actually that was me; I would like you to please make sure that Kai stays in bed and in his room until he is healed."

"Yes sir."

Kai glared at L and sat back down.

_Dang it! How will I make sure she doesn't give anything away?_

"Come on Keitaro," L left the room with Keitaro following close behind.


	13. Chapter 12

Lorelai sighed as she walked up to the nurse's station.

_Why am I doing this again? I don't even get along with him!_

She rang the bell and a nurse walked up a couple of moments later.

"May I help you?"

"Could you tell me where Kai Yagami's room is?"

"Are you a friend or a relative of his?"

_No…_

"Yes."

The nurse pulled up his file on the computer.

"His room is number twelve, right down that hallway," she pointed to the left. Lorelai thanked her and started walking in that direction.

_Seriously, why am I doing this? I hate him! And what has he ever done for me? Nothing, that's what! I should just turn around and walk out of here._

Lorelai knocked on the door to room twelve.

"What do you want?" Kai's voice came from inside the room.

_Oh, that is definitely him…_

"Kai, it's Lorelai, I know we don't get along but can I come in?"

"No."

"This is for your benefit idiot, but if you don't want me to I suppose I could just walk away…"

"…Fine, come in."

Lorelai opened the door and walked in.

"Now what do you want Lorelai?"

Kai glared at her from the hospital bed. Lorelai sat down and crossed her legs.

_I can't believe I'm doing this…_

"Do you want to be there for your girlfriend's interrogation?"

Kai blinked, "what?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "I asked if you wanted to be there for your girlfriend's interrogation…did you hit your head too?"

Kai glared at her again, "no, I didn't hit my head and yeah I want to be there, why?"

"Well, I was gonna offer to get you out of here so you could be there but if you keep acting that way I suppose I'll just leave," she leaned back and crossed her arms.

"You want to help me? Why the heck would you want to help me? What's in it for you?"

"Nothing, I just don't think it was very fair of my dad to make you stay here. I don't see what harm it could do and it's not like you're going anywhere other than the headquarters so you probably won't hurt yourself again. I don't see why you couldn't recuperate there."

"So you of all people are going against your dad's orders?" Kai smirked, "I never thought I'd see the day."

Lorelai rolled her eyes again, "quit looking so smug Yagami."

"There's gotta be another reason behind this, you wouldn't do this for just anybody, in fact; I'm the last person I would think you'd do this for…"

"Well, there isn't another reason so shut up and call the nurse so I can get you out of here."

"No, there's gotta be something…but what could it be?" Kai smirked again, "I think you like me."

Lorelai blinked, "you had to have hit your head. There's no way in heck that I like you."

Kai laughed, "you like me, you just won't admit it!"

Lorelai glared at him, "when Hades freezes over! Now wipe that smirk off your face and push the button or I'll just leave here without you right now!"

Kai laughed again, "alright, alright, jeez! Learn to relax a little would you?"

Kai pushed the button and a few moments later a nurse walked in.

"What is it Yagami-san?"

Lorelai turned to face the nurse.

"I'm his aunt, his father sent me here to bring him home."

"I'm going to need to see some identification and make sure his shoulder is healing properly before I can let him leave."

"Of course," Lorelai pulled out an ID and handed it to the nurse.

"I'll be right back," the nurse left the room and Lorelai leaned back in her chair again.

Kai stared at her, "a fake ID?"

Lorelai nodded, "Mello can be very helpful, I'm just lucky he agreed with me."

"Well, you're just breaking all kinds of rules today aren't you?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes and the nurse walked back in and handed Lorelai the ID.

"Alright, looks good, now I just have to make sure his shoulder is healing properly and if everything checks out alright you guys can leave," she smiled, walked over to Kai, and began undoing his bandages. Lorelai turned her attention to the window.

_Is he insane? What on Earth would make him think I like him? I_ don't _like him! I mean, yeah he's attractive but he's the biggest jerk I've ever met! And he's so immature it's not even funny! The only things he's got going for him are his looks, his intelligence, and the fact that he cares for his little brother so much._

"Alright Yagami-san, I think you're good to go."

The nurse stood and left the room. Lorelai handed Kai a t-shirt and jeans.

"Here, go get dressed and let's get out of here."

Kai took the clothes and went in the small bathroom in the corner of the room. A few minutes passed and Lorelai walked over and knocked on the door.

"What the heck is taking you so long Yagami?"

"Do you know how freaking hard it is to get dressed with one hand?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Do you need any help?"

"You just want to see me without a shirt don't you?"

Lorelai blushed and slammed her fist against the door, "I meant from a nurse you freaking pervert! And no, I don't want to see you without a shirt!"

"Relax would you?" Kai opened the door and walked out, fully dressed. "And no, I don't need any help."

Lorelai rolled her eyes again and grabbed his good arm, "good, let's go."

She pulled him from the room and all the way out the doors of the hospital.


	14. Chapter 13

Lorelai took a deep breath and walked into the room where everyone else was working with Kai following close behind her.

L spun around in his chair and looked at her, "Lorelai, why is Kai here? I believe I said he was supposed to stay at the hospital."

"I know, but I just don't see why you insisted he stay _there_. It doesn't make sense! You and mom are fully capable of taking care of an injured person, not to mention, Mello, Matt, Near, or even I could if we really needed to. Also, it's not like you're going to let him out of your sight so I don't see what harm he could do to himself or anyone else for that matter. _And _this is his _girlfriend _you're interrogating and she's the first girlfriend he's had who he _hasn't_ cheated on. Honestly, I think he actually cares about her."

L spun back around, "very well. Lorelai, I am putting you in charge of keeping an eye on him."

Mello fought back a laugh as Lorelai's and Kai's jaws dropped.

"You will need to monitor him twenty-four hours a day. To do so, I recommend you be with him the majority of that time. The two of you will be handcuffed together to ensure that."

"Ryuzaki, are you so sure this is such a good idea? They _are_ both teenagers…" Soichiro stated, letting his sentence trail off, allowing his point be implied rather than stated outright.

"Of course, I said they should be together the _majority_ of the time, they will not be sleeping in the same room and they will not be together when bathing, using the restroom, or changing. At night they will both be locked in separate rooms and there will be cameras in Kai's room."

"B-but I…he…ugh! Yes daddy," Lorelai sat down and crossed her arms and Mello started laughing.

She glared at him.

"Sorry but your reaction was hilarious!"

Kai leaned against the wall clearly irritated, _great, how am I going to continue being Kira with _her_ stuck to my wrist all the time? Well…I suppose that as long as Yori's in custody it won't be a problem considering L believes she is Kira anyway but should she be let go…it's not likely but…I suppose she could continue acting as Kira…but would she want to? And furthermore, would she be stupid enough to do so at the risk of getting caught again?_

* * *

Kai and Lorelai sat as far away from each other as the chain would allow.

Kai glared at Lorelai, "I hate you."

"The feeling is mutual."

"You're acting like this is my fault!"

"Because it _is_ your fault!"

"How the heck is it my fault?"

"If my dad didn't think you were Kira we wouldn't be handcuffed together."

"Oh yeah, that makes sense; blame me because you dad's insane and thinks I'm Kira."

"Oh would you shut up!"

Matsuda frowned as he watched their argument escalate on the screen, "shouldn't we do something? They've been going at it for an hour now."

L glanced at the screen and then returned to his work, "they'll run out of things to say eventually."

"Then what'll they do?"

L thought for a moment, "if they take after Light and myself then there is a ninety percent chance that their argument will escalate into a fight, however if Kai takes after Light as much as I believe he does then he will not hit Lorelai considering the fact that she is a girl and I am certain that Lorelai will not hit Kai as he is currently injured. Therefore there is really only a ten percent chance that their argument will turn into a fight."

Matsuda gave L a blank look, "uh…ok."

L ignored him and Matsuda turned back to the screen.

"Oh my gosh you're unbelievable!"

Lorelai stood and started walking and soon after Kai was pulled along as well.

"Lorelai, where the heck are you going?"

Lorelai ignored him and continued walking.

L turned to the doorway a split second before Lorelai walked in dragging Kai with her.

"Dad, I can't take it anymore, get this _thing_ off my wrist!"

"I'm sorry Lorelai but the handcuffs are the only way I can be sure you and Kai stay in the same room."

"I was talking about Kai."

"I believe the statement applies both ways."

Lorelai scowled as L turned back to the screen.

"It's good that you came here now, I was just about to start Yori's interrogation and if I recall, that is the reason you brought Kai from the hospital in the first place. So, if the two of you would take a seat, we can begin."

Kai and Lorelai sat down—once again, as far as the chain would allow—and L flipped the switch so they could speak to Yori.


	15. Chapter 14

Lorelai sighed and adjusted her position on the couch as L asked Yori another question.

"Dad, it's been four hours and she hasn't said a word. We're not getting anywhere with this strategy!"

L placed his thumb on his lip contemplatively as Yori stuck her tongue out at the camera.

"Perhaps you're right…maybe we should have Kai question her."

Kai stared at him, "you want me to question my girlfriend?"

"Yes."

Kai sighed and—surprisingly—did as he was told and walked over to the microphone, "Yori?"

Her face instantly lit up, "yes Kai?"

He sighed again, "are you Kira?"

"No."

Kai stepped away and looked at L, "there, happy?"

"No."

Kai rolled his eyes.

Aizawa and Mello walked in and took their usual places.

"Any luck?" Lorelai asked glancing at them curiously.

Aizawa sighed, "we found a lot of notebooks in her room but none of them were Death Notes."

Mello pulled out a plain black notebook and handed it to L, "this is the closest one we could find."

L flipped through it, memorizing every detail.

Kai glanced over his shoulder, _I've never seen that notebook before…_

"It would appear as though she's studying to become a nurse," L said as he set the notebook down.

"So…was she just taking notes when we caught her on camera? She _was_ at a hospital with a notebook that looked a lot like that one," Matsuda stated looking rather confused.

"But why won't she say anything if she's innocent?" Lorelai asked.

"She gets quiet when she's ticked off and I imagine that being arrested under suspicion of being Kira ticked her off a lot."

L thought for a moment, _on the off chance that Kai is telling the truth then Yori may be innocent. However, the timing between when they caught her writing in a notebook on camera and the death of Shinobu was too close to simply be a coincidence. If Yori is innocent then either Kai gave the notebook to someone else or he was never Kira in the first place. I cannot believe the latter, Kai is currently Kira or was at a point; of that much I am certain…but as for the former…who would he have given the notebook to?_

"So, what do you think Ryuzaki?" Matsuda said glancing at L.

L turned to face everyone, "there is still too high of a chance that Yori is Kira. She will remain in custody until we have proof of whether or not she's innocent."

_

* * *

_

Melina burst into the living room where 10 year old Kai and 5 year old Keitaro sat playing on the floor. From the look on his mother's face, Kai immediately knew something was wrong.

_Melina grabbed the phone from where it was charging and handed it to Kai, "sweetie, take Keitaro, go downstairs, and call Ryuzaki-san, but be very quiet please. If you hear anyone coming, hide, alright?"_

_Kai frowned and nodded._

_Melina looked at them sadly, "I love you both, remember that alright?"_

"_We love you too," Kai said, a bit confused._

_Then he took the phone and Keitaro's hand and went down into the basement._

"_Kai…what's wrong?" Keitaro asked looking at his older brother with eyes filled with innocence and confusion._

_Kai frowned for a second and looked at the phone before looking at his younger brother and smiling, "don't worry Keitaro, everything will be ok."_

_Keitaro nodded and clutched Kai's hand tighter. Kai took a deep breath and dialed L's number._

_Wait…why the heck am I thinking about that? Why am I letting myself get so distracted? _Kai shook himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention back to the screen that showed Yori in her cell. _She's smarter than I originally thought, she actually thought to replace the Death Note with a regular notebook, it's almost like she knew she was going to get caught…if only I could find where she put the real Death Note…that still won't help me though, I need her to tell L that I'm innocent… _Lorelai yawned and stretched and Kai briefly turned his attention to her before turning back to the screen. _I underestimated her…_

* * *

Keitaro frowned as he flipped through his algebra book, not really looking at it. _Why did Kai want to be here for Yori's interrogation so badly? I know she's his girlfriend but…I don't think he really likes her all that much…was he worried she'd say something to give him away? If he gave her the Death Note…I guess that makes sense…but even if she says something, what can he do about it? He can't really stop her…unless he kills her beforehand…but if he was going to do that…wouldn't he have killed her by now? Would he kill his own girlfriend? No, Kai must have a different reason for wanting to be here…but what is it? _Keitaro's frown deepened as he thought through this. _I can't tell what Kai is thinking anymore…I wish I could…if I could figure out his pattern of thinking…I could figure out what he's planning…and even try to prevent some of it…would he kill me if I got in the way? No, absolutely not! I _know _Kai would never do that, no matter what happened, that much I'm completely sure of…but still…I can't help but wonder…how far is he willing to go?_ Keitaro sighed and lay down on his bed. _I wish I could find a way to convince Kai that what he's doing is wrong…_ Keitaro rolled over and closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

_5 year old Keitaro clutched his brother's hand tightly as he dialed the number and waited. _

"_Hello, Ryuzaki-san? …Yes…no, mom told us to go in the basement and call you…I dunno…she looked scared…"_

_A gunshot was heard and Kai and Keitaro turned their attention to the door leading to the basement. Someone opened the door and Kai immediately pulled Keitaro into a nearby closet and hung up the phone._

"_Shh…we don't want them to know we're here, ok Keitaro?"_

_Keitaro nodded and Kai peered out the door cautiously. The steady click of heel-clad footsteps drew nearer to the door and Kai backed away slowly. The footsteps stopped and they both glanced through the crack only to see a curtain of black fabric and a few strands of blonde hair. After a few moments the person walked away and another gunshot was heard followed quickly by the sound of a body hitting the floor._

_Kai inhaled sharply and exhaled to calm his nerves before putting a hand on Keitaro's shoulder, "whatever you do, don't look…"_

_They sat there for a few more minutes before more footsteps were heard, followed by some shocked gasps and L opening the closet door._

Keitaro woke with a start.


	16. Chapter 15

Kai sighed and glared at Lorelai, _why do girls talk so much? She's been ranting non-stop for the past half hour. Does she seriously think I'm listening?_

Lorelai continued to attempt to lecture Kai and Kai continued to ignore her.

_There's gotta be _some _way to get her to shut up…_

Kai contemplated this as Lorelai continued talking. Suddenly Kai, being the genius he is, kissed Lorelai. Needless to say, this did manage to shut Lorelai up for a good two minutes before she realized what had happened and proceeded to punch Kai as hard as she could on his still-injured arm. Kai grit his teeth and bit back a yelp of pain.

"What the _heck_ were you thinking Yagami?"

Kai took a deep breath before responding, "I was thinking that you needed to shut up and that was the only way I could think of without causing you bodily harm."

"You have a girlfriend!"

"It's not like I meant anything by it! I was just trying to get you to stop talking for two seconds!"

"Ugh! I can't believe you!"

Lorelai abruptly got up and started walking towards the door.

"You know, I don't think you quite realize the concept that we are _handcuffed together_ so wherever you go, I go too!"

Lorelai glared at him, "are you implying that I'm stupid?"

"No, I'm just saying that I would think you would've figured that out by now."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and proceeded to walk through the building—with Kai trailing behind her—to the investigation room.

"Any luck on…well…anything?"

Lorelai asked as she sat down with Kai sitting next to her.

"We can't find any evidence against Yori or Kai…in fact—everything we've found points to Yori's innocence," Matsuda stated rifling through pages upon pages of information.

Lorelai sighed, "seems like every time we think we find something it just leads us back to square one…"

Kai rolled his eyes, "I told you she had nothing to do with it."

_I don't understand this, there's no way they're not finding anything on her! She couldn't have been this prepared, couldn't have known that she would be caught, she's not that smart!_ Kai thought, glancing at the pile of information Matsuda was holding.

Matsuda turned to L, "Ryuzaki…we really should let her go…keeping her in custody isn't helping anything."

L turned and stared at Matsuda.

"I think he's right Ryuzaki. She's been here for nearly two weeks, I'm sure her parents are worried about her," Soichiro stated walking over to the detective.

"I wouldn't worry too much about her parents, I called them and told them she was with me, it didn't surprise them in the least honestly…" Kai said nonchalantly.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow, "then I'm certain they're _extremely_ worried about her…"

Kai glared at her.

"Either way, we can't keep her here any longer, she needs to go home."

"I agree with Yagami-san, dad, we can keep her under surveillance but…she really can't stay here any longer."

L turned back to the computer, "perhaps you're right…we will release her but she will remain under surveillance. Mello, Matt; I need the two of you to place cameras in her house."

Mello and Matt nodded and left.


	17. Chapter 16

_She hasn't done anything…it's been three days…I haven't even seen Ryuk around her…did she give up the Death Note completely?_ Kai glared at the screen showing Yori's bedroom as he thought, _if she gave up the Death Note…wouldn't that make me the owner again? If that were the case then…why haven't I seen Ryuk?_

Matsuda burst into the investigation room, "Kira's killing again!"

All eyes were suddenly on him.

"Turn to channel seven!"

Aizawa abruptly walked over to the TV and turned it to channel seven. A female reporter with short black hair stared at the camera as she reported from an apartment building.

'_It seems that after what appeared to be a brief sixteen day hiatus Kira has begun killing criminals once again. I'm reporting now from Shochiku Square Residence in Higashi Ginza in Tokyo where three men—all suspects in the murder of high school student, Akane Kobayashi—were found dead in their apartments this morning. The medical report states they all died of heart attacks at approximately 5:25 AM…'_

Everyone stared at the TV for a few moments before automatically going to their normal places and beginning their individual jobs on the case as they had several times before.

_

* * *

_

Yori walked swiftly towards the one person she knew would help her and wouldn't turn her in.

At least I hope he'll help me…he's not exactly the most helpful person…

_She walked up to the dark teen who fixed her with a permanent glare._

"_You're Sato Mikami right?"_

"_That's right…"_

"_I hear you're a Kira supporter."_

"_Yeah, so?"_

"_How'd you like to help Kira?"_

_Sato raised an eyebrow, "I'm listening…"_

* * *

Sato walked through his house—ignoring his father—went straight up to his room, and locked his door.

'You know, I don't get why you're so worried about your father finding out that you're using a Death Note. He makes it blatantly obvious that he's a Kira supporter, I wouldn't be surprised if he actually helped you.'

Sato scoffed, "my dad's pathetic, he's beyond just being a Kira supporter he's literally obsessive to the point where he even says Kira is some sort of god! In reality, Kira's just a kid with a chip on his shoulder, he's no god…at least…not yet…but I have no doubt in my mind that he could be."

'Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk…and just when I was starting to think you were sane…'

Sato glared at the Shinigami before pulling out the Death Note and busying himself with writing it in.

_

* * *

_

Sato stared at her, "you're asking me to write down Shinobu's name in this notebook tomorrow afternoon?"

"_More specifically around 2:15…I'll text you or something."_

"_But why?"_

_Yori sighed, "we've been over this, I already told you, Kai—you know, the guy you practically worship—was shot earlier tonight, Shinobu's the one who shot him."_

"_I still don't get why you want me to write his name down when you're just as capable."_

_Yori sighed again, _is this what I sound like when I'm acting stupid?

"_I'm going to write something in my class notebook around the same time so it'll look like I'm writing in the Death Note so L will arrest me—but I don't know when he'll do that. His arresting me will give him a reason to search through my things; therefore I can't have him finding the Death Note. If all he finds is my class notebook then my name will be cleared…for the most part anyway."_

"_So you think that being arrested will clear your name?"_

_Sato rolled his eyes, _she's an idiot…

"_I just need you to write this one thing…and maybe continue acting as Kira after I get arrested."_

_Sato sighed, "alright fine, I'll help you…"_

-3 DAYS LATER-

Kai flipped through pages of information on the Kira case, not really paying attention, simply thinking.

_Who would she have given it to? Her friends? No, none of her friends are Kira supporters—she knows that, she wouldn't give it to any of them…hm…her younger sister? No, no, that's ridiculous…she's only eight years old and she cares too much about her to put her through that. I wonder…what about that kid who never leaves me alone, what was his name? Sato Mikami? Yeah, that's it…he's obviously a Kira supporter, she knows him, he'd likely help if he knew that he was helping Kira, not to mention he's dark enough that he'd probably use it anyway. It has to be him. I just need to find a way to confront him about it…_

Kai rolled his newly-healed, now fully-functioning shoulder, and leaned back.

"Find anything new?" Lorelai asked, glancing at him.

"I haven't been able to find anything new the past 12 times I've read it…"

Lorelai raised an eyebrow.

"We're not gonna find anything new, we've dissected this information at least 100 times, if there was anything to find, we'd have found it by now."

Kai looked at her and she sighed, "I hate to say it but…you're probably right…we need more information."

Kai nodded then blinked in shock, "did we just agree on something?"

"…Oh my gosh I think we did…"

Lorelai and Kai stared at each other for a moment.

"We will never speak of this."

"Agreed."

Lorelai and Kai looked away from each other and turned back to what they were doing.


	18. Chapter 17

FIVE DAYS LATER

"You know," Matsuda began, causing everyone to look in his direction, "there really is no point in having Kai handcuffed to Lorelai anymore. I mean, Kira's been killing people for over a week now and it's kind of obvious that it's not him."

L spun around to face him and put his thumb to his lip, pondering the statement, "perhaps you're right Matsuda-san."

L tossed the key to him, "please remove their handcuffs."

"Uh…ok," Matsuda said, taking the key and leaving the room to find Kai and Lorelai.

Meanwhile, Kai and Lorelai were arguing, as per usual.

"I don't care what you say! I _know_ you're Kira!"

"Oh yeah? Well if I'm Kira then answer this; how am I killing people _while I'm handcuffed to you?_"

"I don't know yet but I'm going to find out!"

"Why won't you just admit that you're wrong?"

"Because I'm _not_ wrong!"

At that point, Matsuda stepped in looking rather awkward and the two teenagers glared at him.

"Uh…Ryuzaki told me to un-handcuff you."

"Oh…alright then," Kai stated, obviously more than ready to have the handcuff removed.

Lorelai wasn't so agreeable, "why?"

"Um…because…well…Kira has been killing and Kai obviously isn't doing it so…" Matsuda trailed off, rubbing the back of his head.

Kai smirked, "even your dad agrees that I couldn't possibly be Kira."

"Right now."

"Oh shut up and admit that you're stupid and don't know what you're talking about."

At that, Lorelai promptly smacked him and held her arm out. Matsuda removed both handcuffs from the teenagers' wrists and Lorelai walked out of the room, obviously incredibly irritated.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY

Kai walked out of the headquarters and took a deep breath, "ah sweet freedom, I _definitely_ don't miss being handcuffed to Lorelai we couldn't go _anywhere!_ Not that I would've wanted to while I was handcuffed to her, that would've looked beyond awkward."

Kai sighed as he walked, his breath fogging in the cold weather, "it's weird…I guess I got kind of used to having someone to talk to whether it's Ryuk or even Lorelai…I'm actually talking to myself."

The rest of his walk was spent in silence until he reached his destination.

"I guess this is the place…it's the right address anyway."

Kai walked up the steps and rang the doorbell and was greeted by Teru Mikami.

Kai bowed quickly, "hello Mikami-san, I was wondering if Satoshi was here."

Mikami nodded and motioned for Kai to come in as he went to retrieve his son. A few moments later the gothic teen appeared, a look of surprise crossing his features as soon as he saw who it was.

Ryuk floated in behind him a minute later, 'do you have any more apples?'

Kai smirked, "I guess I don't need to ask if you have my Death Note do I?"

Sato shook his head, "I would have told you either way, Yori told me you were Kira…do you want it back?"

"That's actually one of the things I need to discuss with you."

Sato led the way up to his room and locked the door the second they were inside.

_This room is…creepy to say the least_, Kai thought as he took in his surroundings. The room was filled with skulls, chains, depictions of graveyards, coffins, ravens, as well as other symbols of death, and everything was either black or red.

Kai glanced at Ryuk, _well…he certainly fits in here at least, if anyone were to see him in here I don't think they would even notice._

Sato sat on his bed and Kai sat in Sato's desk chair.

"Alright, let's cut to the chase" _so that I can get out of here as quickly as possible_, Kai thought glancing around the room once more.

"I need you to continue acting as Kira. You know why I had Yori act as Kira right?"

Sato nodded.

"Great, that makes this easier. I'm still under heavy surveillance so I won't be able to kill as often as I was, however, I will need to take a few pages out of the Death Note for emergencies and simply for the times when I am not under surveillance."

Sato nodded again and pulled out the Death Note, "will I still be the owner then?"

"Yeah, I'll only have pieces of it with me; you'll be in possession of the actual notebook. You'd have to give the ownership to me, or I'd have to kill you if I wanted to be the owner again."

"You won't have to worry about that, I'll give it back to you if you ask for it."

_Hm…he's smart but a bit naïve…ah well, that's not important right now, _Kai thought as he took the notebook from Sato and tore a few pages out.

"Now, there's one more thing I need you to do for me Sato."

Kai rang the doorbell to Yori's house and a few seconds later she answered the door.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Yori hesitated for a moment before nodding and leading him up to her room.

The second he closed the door she turned around, "I can't do this anymore Kai. I can't lie for you; I can't stand you being Kira. What you're doing is wrong! What if you're killing innocent people too? The police make mistakes! And even if you're not, killing criminals is wrong too Kai! And…"

She trailed off as Kai pulled her into a hug, "shh, relax Yori. Everything is going to be alright."

"But…Kai…no," she pushed him away and turned away from him, "you can't keep doing this Kai."

He frowned, "I'm sorry you feel that way."

Kai walked out the door and out of her house.

"Wait, Kai!" Yori followed and grabbed his arm, "please don't go."

Kai turned to her, no emotion in his eyes, "by the way, I'm breaking up with you."

And with that he walked off, leaving Yori with tears in her eyes and a broken heart.

Kai sat down on the sofa and sighed.

"What's the matter? I thought the first thing you'd do is visit your girlfriend and then you'd be at least a little happier than usual, which I guess isn't really saying much anyway…" Lorelai said glancing at him.

"Yori and I got into a fight and we broke up."

Lorelai blinked, "oh."

"Yeah but she'll cool off and ask if we can get back together, she always does."

"This has happened before?"

"Yep."

_Why am I suddenly interested in his love life? Snap out of it Lorelai!_ Lorelai walked into the next room to reprioritize her thoughts.

An hour later L received a call, "…I see…yes I will tell him, thank you for calling…"

He hung up the phone and called in Lorelai, "bring me Kai please; I need to speak with him."

Lorelai nodded and dragged Kai in.

"What?" He asked, clearly irritated.

"Yori is dead."

Kai's eyes widened and he sat/fell down where he was…which was coincidentally on the floor.

"…What?"

"Your girlfriend, Yori Wakayama, is dead. She killed herself."

"…But…why would she…"

"She left a note; it said something about a breakup with you…"

Lorelai helped Kai up and led him to a chair.

"Kai was the fight any worse than usual or about anything more serious?"

"Not really…she thought I was cheating on her, which I actually wasn't, but she didn't believe me. She's thought that a couple of times, we've fought about it before, she breaks up with me and then she always finds out that I'm not and we get back together…"

Lorelai frowned, "Kai…I'm…I'm really sorry."

"…Don't be, it's not like it was your fault…"

"It's not your fault either."

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not; you were defending yourself against a rumor that wasn't true!"

"Made from the reputation I have! It's my fault Lorelai!"

Kai stood and walked to his room.

"I feel really bad for him dad, I mean I know his horrible reputation is his own fault but…he's lost so many people already…"

Kai closed his door behind him and smirked and pulled out the page of the Death Note that Sato had written on where the cameras couldn't see:

Yori Wakayama

27 December, 2024

6:45pm

Suicide; after breaking up with her boyfriend she goes

into a sudden depression which leads to a rash

decision to commit suicide in a quick and effective way

20 minutes later. She leaves a note saying

something about the breakup.


	19. Chapter 18

_Kai sat in the middle of his floor staring at the photo in his hands. Sayu walked in and squatted down behind him._

"_You need to start packing Kai; Ryuzaki-san wants you and Keitaro to be moved into your rooms at his house by bedtime."_

"_I don't wanna move…can't I stay here Aunt Sayu?"_

"_I'm sorry sweetie but you can't stay here by yourself…and anyway…you're a big boy, you're almost 11 years old! You need to be there for Keitaro so he has a good role-model, he needs a big boy to look up to," she said, smiling as she ruffled his hair._

_Kai just frowned and Sayu sighed and pulled him into a hug, "I know you miss your mom…but things will get better…I promise, ok?"_

"_Ok…"_

_Sayu ruffled his hair again and walked out the door, "be sure you're all packed, you've got an hour."_

_Kai sighed and set the photograph on the bed, then stood on a chair to try to reach the empty box on his shelf. Kai frowned when he couldn't reach it and climbed on his desk and successfully pulled the box down, then he attempted to climb down…and promptly fell on his butt, tossing the box as he did so._

"_Ow!"_

_The box fell on his head and he pulled it off, frustrated._

"_Dang it!"_

_He set the box down and proceeded to place his belongings into it._

_When he finished, he sighed, placed the photo on top of his belongings, and took one last look around his room to make sure he hadn't missed anything…he frowned when he noticed a notebook on the shelf he had gotten the box off of._

It must have been under the box_, he thought as he climbed onto the desk and pulled it down._

"_Death Note…" he said quietly, reading the words on the cover, "isn't this what Dad used as Kira…?"_

'_Yep'_

_Kai whirled around—successfully falling off of the desk again—and stared at the Shinigami, who just laughed. _

_Kai stood and held the notebook out towards Ryuk, "I don't want this."_

_Ryuk stopped laughing and stared at him, 'are you sure?'_

"_Yes, what makes you think I would want it?"_

'_I would assume you would want to continue your father's legacy.'_

"_What legacy? He killed people, that's all there is to it."_

'_Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk, you don't even know why your father killed people.'_

_Kai lowered his arms slowly, "what do you mean?"_

_Ryuk laughed again, 'your father was always blabbering on about cleansing the world of evil or something, it got kind of annoying after a while…'_

"_So…he was doing something good…by doing something bad?"_

'_I suppose that's one way to look at it.'_

_Kai stared at the notebook in his hands._

"_I…I still don't want it…at least…not right now."_

_Ryuk tilted his head, 'not right now?'_

"_I'm only 10; even if I wanted to I don't think I could do what Dad was doing…and even if I could do it I don't think I'd get away with it…bring it back in a few years and ask me then."_

_Ryuk just laughed, took the notebook, and flew off._

31 DECEMBER, 2024

Keitaro sighed as he glanced outside the window at the snow.

_One minute to midnight…_ he thought to himself as he glanced as his watch.

"Keitaro…" Kiyoko said softly as she entered the room.

He turned to face her.

"You should come join the rest of us…we're getting ready to count down to the new year."

He shook his head, "thanks for the offer Kiyoko but…I'd rather stay here."

Kiyoko sighed and sat down next to him, "well you at least shouldn't be all alone."

Keitaro blushed and looked away.

"Keitaro what's wrong? You haven't been yourself and I'm starting to get worried."

"It's nothing…don't worry about it."

Kiyoko frowned, "come on, please! I want to know what's going on. Everyone's worried about you; you've seemed so depressed lately."

"I'm fine, really," Keitaro smiled, "but thanks."

Kiyoko blushed, "are you _sure_ you're ok?"

"Yeah."

"Well…ok then," she smiled.

Keitaro glanced at his watch again, "ten seconds to midnight…"

Kiyoko leaned closer to look at his watch as well.

Keitaro blushed even brighter, "um…Kiyoko…"

She leaned forward and closed the distance pressing her mouth to his in a gentle kiss.

After a few seconds she pulled away and glanced at his watch again, "happy new year Keitaro."

He smiled, "happy new year Kiyoko."

And with that, he kissed her once more.


	20. Chapter 19

_Hm…the only bad thing about this power…is that I can't see the day _I'm_ going to die…_

Zakuro glared at her compact mirror, willing the numbers to show themselves, but of course, they did not. She sighed and started putting the finishing touches on her makeup when something hit her on the side of the head.

She swore and picked up the object, "huh…weird notebook…what the heck kind of writing is this?"

'It's Shinigami writing.'

She looked up and found herself face-to-upside-down-face with a flying, monkey-like Shinigami.

He picked up her mirror and grinned unnervingly, 'wanna trade?'

She smirked, "Shinigami huh? So this is the notebook Kira uses?"

'Well, not the exact notebook but it's similar.'

She flipped through the notebook and looked at him, "can you translate this?"

'Well duh.'

"Alright then, if you'll translate this for me, I'll trade with you Shinigami."

'Hey, I have a name, it's Mono.'

She rolled her eyes, "fine _Mono_, translate this into Japanese and take the freaking mirror."

'You can have the notebook for the mirror…but translating is gonna cost you extra.'

"What do you want?"

'What else do you have that's shiny?'

"Shiny?"

She rolled her eyes again and went through her drawers, "how's this?" She asked pulling out a crystal pendant. Mono stared, transfixed, at the crystal.

"I'm gonna say that's good, get to work monkey-boy."

'You know, I don't get it…why are you helping him? You know he's just using you.'

Sato glanced at Ryuk and sighed, "this again? I've already told you, he's saved me from countless jerks…I owe him."

'You know he'll kill you the first chance he gets.'

"He only kills criminals, I'm no criminal."

'What about Yori?'

Sato thought for a moment, "he didn't kill her…"

'He told you to kill her, what's the difference?'

"She was against him, she knew he was Kira and she would've turned him in, he had no choice."

Ryuk only laughed in response.

Zakuro raised an eyebrow, "so you're saying that with the eyes I can see the name and lifespan of everyone _except_ for Kira?"

'Or anyone else with a Death Note…they wouldn't necessarily be Kira.'

"Hm…that's odd…"

'What?'

"It's just that…for the past two weeks or so I haven't been able to see my boyfriend's lifespan…"

Mono laughed, 'sounds like your boyfriend's got a Death Note.'

She contemplated this for a moment, "I suppose it's possible…but…no, he's not _nearly_ smart enough to use a Death Note and not get caught."

Mono only laughed harder.

Keitaro looked at Kiyoko, _is she having fun? Is it obvious that I'm nervous?_

Kiyoko glanced back at Keitaro, _should I hold his hand? Would that be too awkward? Hm…I guess there's only one way to find out._

She reached over and took his hand in hers, twining their fingers together. Keitaro blushed and she smiled and turned back to watch the sunset.

"This is nice," she said and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Keitaro's blush deepened, "g—great! Uh…are you tired?"

"No."

"Oh…ok."

_Girls are so confusing, _he thought as he glanced down at Kiyoko.

Keitaro and Kiyoko walked into the headquarters hand-in-hand.

Matsuda turned to look at them, "did you two have a good time?"

Kiyoko nodded vigorously, "mmhmm! We had a great time, right Keitaro?"

Keitaro smiled, "yeah."

"Um…I was wondering if I could maybe talk to Lorelai-san for a minute," Kiyoko said nervously.

Lorelai turned to look at her, "why?"

"Girl stuff."

Lorelai laughed, "alright, come on."

Lorelai led Kiyoko into the next room and closed the door.

"Alright, now what is this _really_ about Kiyoko-chan?"

Kiyoko blinked in surprise, "I guess I shouldn't be too shocked that you guessed it was about something other than 'girl stuff'."

She sighed and looked Lorelai straight in the eye, "I want to help with the Kira case."

Lorelai's eyes widened, "what? Why?"

"I'm worried about Keitaro, he's been so depressed lately. I want to help him prove his brother's innocence…and if Kai really is Kira then I want to help stop him!"

Lorelai sighed, "I don't know if I can do that Kiyoko-chan, I know your father wouldn't be ok with that not to mention my father wouldn't be too thrilled with the idea either."

"That's why I asked you, _please_ Lorelai-san!"

Lorelai sighed again, "alright…but this has to be our little secret, we can't tell _anyone_ that you're helping. If either of our fathers find out…"

Kiyoko smiled and nodded and Lorelai led her back to the main room.

"Are you ready to go Kiyoko?" Matsuda asked, smiling.

She nodded, "yes daddy."

With that, Matsuda and Kiyoko left the building.

"What did the two of you talk about?" L asked, turning to Lorelai.

"Like she said; girl stuff," she said, going back to her previous work.

L raised an eyebrow, "what kinds of 'girl stuff'?"

Lorelai turned to face him, "menstruation."

L turned back to his work.


	21. Chapter 20

_12 year old Kai Yagami sat on the floor of his bedroom, a knife in his left hand and his right forearm bleeding as evidence of what he had just done. A knock on his door startled him out of his trance-like state and he hurriedly pushed down his sleeve, hid the knife, and opened the door. Keitaro walked in and opened his mouth as though he wanted to speak but stopped and locked his eyes on Kai's arm,_

"_why is your arm all bloody?"_

_Kai glanced down and, sure enough, the blood was soaking through his shirt, staining it. He stood there for a moment, saying nothing before trying to change the subject,_

"_what did you want to talk to me about Keitaro?"_

_Keitaro frowned, "you didn't answer my question."_

"_It's not important."_

"_Yes it is, you're bleeding! That's not a good thing Kai!"_

"_Don't worry about it."_

_Keitaro's frown deepened and he left Kai's room and ran down to where L was working. Kai sighed and followed at a much slower pace, giving the 6 year old time to go wherever he was going._

_Keitaro ran up to L and tugged on his sleeve._

_L turned to face him, "what's wrong Keitaro?"_

"_Kai's arm is all bloody and he won't tell me why."_

_L raised an eyebrow, "why do you think he wouldn't want to tell you?"_

_Keitaro didn't miss a beat with his answer, "I think he hurt himself on purpose."_

_L nodded, "I will speak with him."_

_Keitaro ran out of the room just as Kai walked in. Kai turned and started to follow after him._

"_Kai, wait for just a moment please, I would like to speak with you."_

_He turned back around to face the eccentric detective. L motioned for Kai to come closer and sit down and Kai obliged, sitting in the chair next to him._

"_Kai, please show me your arm."_

_Without waiting for a response, L grabbed Kai's arm and pushed up his sleeve to reveal 3 thin, fresh cuts. He slowly made eye contact with the 12 year old,_

"_it appears your brother was correct…why are you cutting yourself?"_

"_Well, let's see. Both of my parents are dead, not to mention my father was Kira so I get a lot of crap for that at school, you are constantly breathing down my neck because you think I'll become the next Kira or something, and on top of that I have to live in the same freaking house as you and your insane daughter."_

_L habitually put his thumb in his mouth as he analyzed what Kai had just said._

"_You blame me for your mother's death as well as your father's."_

"_Well, it is your fault."_

"_You're right."_

_The young genius stared at him, "…What?"_

_L sighed, "Misa was the second Kira and I let her go, it makes sense that you would blame me for your mother's death. Misa had given up the notebook by that time, therefore she had no memory of being the second Kira and I had no evidence against her other than your father's statement which hardly held any credibility. I was wrong to assume that because she had given up the Death Note she was no longer dangerous."_

_Kai glared darkly at him, "let me ask you something L…if my father had given up the notebook…would you have shown him the same mercy as you showed Misa?"_

"_He would never have done that."_

"_That's not what I'm asking…if he had given up the notebook would you still have sentenced him to death?"_

_L remained silent and Kai frowned and leaned back in his chair, "I figured as much…and you say you're justice."_

_He scoffed and walked over to the detective._

"_I've got news for you _L_," he began, saying the letter as though it was the vilest curse word, "that isn't justice. You're nothing but a hypocrite."_

_L continued to stare wordlessly at the boy and Mello conveniently chose that particular moment to walk into the room,_

"_what the heck is Keitaro freaking out about?"_

_L tore his gaze from the dark glare the pre-teen was giving him and turned to face Mello, "Kai has been cutting himself, please remove any objects you can find that he could use to harm himself from where he can access them."_

_Kai looked from L to Mello and back and scowled, "what if I have to use them for a school project or something?"_

"_If that becomes the case then we will monitor your use of them."_

_Mello nodded and left the room and Kai sat down in his chair and sulked._

* * *

Kai frowned as he subconsciously traced the small scars on his forearm.

_Keitaro has always had some sort of trick up his sleeve to get me to stop doing something he doesn't want me to do…I know he doesn't want me to be Kira, that's pretty evident. I wonder what he'll do to try and stop me._

Kai's frown deepened, _he could do anything and I wouldn't be able to stop him—he knows that. Killing him isn't an option, that would draw unnecessary attention to myself…why the heck am I even thinking about that? I _will not_ kill him. It shouldn't even be a matter of whether or not it would help me._


	22. Chapter 21

Zakuro whipped out her cell phone and dialed her boyfriend's number. It only had to ring once before he answered.

"Hey babe, listen can you come over to my house for a minute?"

She scowled at his reply, "because I asked you to, _that's _why. Get your scrawny butt over here _now_!"

She hung up the phone and glared at Mono who was staring at her, "what?"

He cocked his head to the side, 'why are you having him come over here?'

"I want to make sure he has a Death Note."

'How do you plan on doing that?'

"Well, that's simple. _I_ may not be able to see if he's being followed by a Shinigami…but _you_ can."

'Eh? What makes you think I'd tell you?'

She smirked and opened her jewelry box, "I'll make it worth your while."

A few minutes later Mono looked out the window and started laughing.

"What?"

'Ryuk you devious jerk…how dare you come to the human world without telling me.'

"I'm going to assume you're talking about a Shinigami…does that mean I'm right?"

'Huh? Oh…yeah, I guess so.'

* * *

Kiyoko looked through the window at Sato and Zakuro.

_I wish I could read lips better, I need to know what they're saying,_ she thought.

She focused harder, _oh! Sato just said Kira…but that doesn't mean anything, everyone's talking about Kira._

Kiyoko sighed. Suddenly, Sato stood and walked towards the window.

Kiyoko ducked down quickly, _oh no! I hope he didn't see me._

Sato opened the window and walked back towards Zakuro and Kiyoko let out a sigh of relief.

_That was way too close, I've gotta be more careful._

Just as that thought crossed her mind, two pairs of hands shot down and pulled her through the window.

She looked up at Sato and Zakuro and laughed nervously, _how am I gonna get out of this one?_

Sato glared at her as Zakuro closed the window and shut the curtains.

"What the heck do you think you're doing Matsuda?"

"Um…I was just…uh…I um…lost my dad's credit card."

Zakuro pushed Sato onto the couch and stood over Kiyoko, "and you thought it would be under my window?"

"Um…well I want to check _everywhere_."

Zakuro scowled, "you're lying, how much did you hear?"

"I didn't hear anything but if you want to know that then that means I'm right and you're hiding something."

Zakuro crouched down to her level, "that's right, and we'd like to keep it hidden…but…just because you worked _so_ hard, I'm going to tell you anyway. Satoshi, go get my Death Note."

Kiyoko's eyes widened in fear.

Zakuro smirked, "don't worry, I won't kill you unless you give me a reason to."

Sato returned and gave Zakuro her Death Note.

"You know what this is right? A Shinigami's Death Note, the weapon used by Kira to kill criminals…but, of course, it doesn't just kill criminals," Zakuro turned on the TV which was showing a news program, "watch."

She wrote down the name of the on-site news reporter and 40 seconds later the woman died of a heart attack. Kiyoko stared wide-eyed at Zakuro.

"Now, you don't want your boyfriend to suffer the same fate do you? And I know that you don't want to. Stay quiet and the both of you just might survive."

Kiyoko nodded, too afraid to speak.


	23. Chapter 22

Kai knocked on the door to the Mikami household. Sato answered and blinked in surprise, "Kai…what are you doing here?"

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Right, um…follow me."

Sato led him upstairs to his room, "ok, no one can hear us up here."

Kai nodded, "I need the Death Note back."

"Why?"

Kai scowled.

"Right, no questions asked, got it."

Sato pulled the Death Note out and held it out to Kai.

"I still need you to work as Kira so take a few pages out before I take it from you."

Sato nodded and did as he was told and Kai took the Death Note, put it in his bag, and left.

* * *

Zakuro slammed her locker and stormed away from Sato.

"What the heck is your problem?"

He yelled, running after her.

"Why don't you ask your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend and neither of us are gay anyway!"

"Then why the heck do you spend so much freaking time with him?"

Sato ran up to her and grabbed her arm, "because I'm working for him."

"Well you're spending more time with_ him_ than with me! I would hope that your _girlfriend_ would be more important to you than some idiot with a chip on his shoulder!"

"You _are_ more important to me."

"Then prove it."

"How?"

Zakuro smirked, "I want you to betray him."

"He'll kill me."

"Not if you do it right, if you do it the right way he won't suspect anything until it's too late."

* * *

Mello turned on his laptop computer ready to sift through more information on Kira. He raised an eyebrow as a line of text was displayed across his screen "one new message". He clicked on it and it opened his email. He read it through twice, "L, I think you should read this."

L walked over calmly and read over Mello's shoulder, "where was this sent from?"

"Um…looks like the Gakuin University library in Aoyama, it was a public computer and they don't have people sign in, there's no way we could find out who sent it."

L nodded, "I suppose we'll just have to do what it says then."

"You're not serious…what if it's a trap?"

"It didn't say you couldn't bring backup. I'll send a few police officers and Matt to follow you. Should anything happen, they'll stop the person responsible."

2 DAYS LATER

Kai headed downstairs on his way to the kitchen to get an apple to give to Ryuk on his way out. He paused behind a door, away from the view of the cameras, to listen in on what the Task Force was discussing.

"…this is insane! There's no way this is real," Matt stated.

"But if it is real then that means we could catch Kira in a matter of days!" Matsuda said, being the optimistic one as usual.

Kai's eyes narrowed, _like heck they will! _He thought.

"Look, whether this is real or not we have to take the chance. If it is then in 5 days Kira will be gone for good."

Kai's eyes widened in shock, _5 days? Oh crap there is no way I'm letting that happen, I can't risk whatever they're talking about actually being true…I have to do something._

"Are you sure you want to meet this guy by yourself Mello? I mean I know we'll be backup but what if this guy's just a psycho and we can't get to you in time? Or what if it's a whole group of Kira supporters or something?"

"I'm going Matt."

_So…it's Mello then. Looks like I only have one option._

Kai walked through calmly as though he hadn't heard any of it and the group stayed silent. Kai raised an eyebrow at their odd behavior and walked out the door.

Ryuk laughed, 'what do you plan to do Kai?'

"It looks like I only have one choice Ryuk," he said as he tossed the apple to him.

'Eh? What's that?'

"I have to kill Mello."

Ryuk only laughed harder, 'you don't even know his name.'

"I know that."

Kai stopped walking and faced the Shinigami, "give me the Shinigami eyes."


	24. Chapter 23

_Keitaro's been avoiding me for the past few days…I wonder if I did something,_

Kai thought to himself as he walked through the train station. His phone rang and he glanced down and scowled at the number shown before answering,

"what do you want Ryuzaki?"

"Keitaro's been kidnapped."

Kai froze, "what?"

"Keitaro was kidnapped by a member of the Yakuza who goes by the name 'Kitsune'. He is wanted in several countries; he found out that Mello is my informant and took Keitaro hostage."

Kai swore, "we have to do something!"

"Mello is already on his way."

"Where are they?"

"Do _not_ interfere Kai, you will only make the situation more hazardous."

"I'm not just going to wait and do nothing!"

"You will only succeed in threatening Keitaro's life as well as your own if you do anything."

Kai hung up the phone and let out a long string of expletives, causing several people to turn and glare at him which he responded to by calmly flipping them off.

* * *

Mello sped through the streets of Tokyo following the signal to Keitaro's location, pushing his motorcycle to its limit.

_I have to hurry, if I don't get there soon Kitsune will kill him. Couldn't we have made this thing go any faster?_

Keitaro sat tied to a chair his face pale with fear while Kitsune paced in front of him, gun in hand.

Kitsune looked at his watch, "maybe your friend doesn't care enough about you after all. He's not willing to come save you; he'd rather save his own skin."

_I wish that were true,_ Keitaro thought to himself.

Kitsune cocked his gun, "well, it looks like you're useless now, kiss this world goodbye kid."

Just as Kitsune took aim Mello burst through the door on his motorcycle and shot the gun out of his hand. Kitsune swore and Mello cut through the ropes, grabbed Keitaro, and raced out. Kitsune grabbed another gun and raced after them on his own motorcycle.

_I just have to get Keitaro out of here alive, _Mello thought to himself as he swerved around traffic.

Kitsune picked up speed and shot at Mello. Mello swore and turned into an alley. Matt's voice came over the speakers in his helmet, 'what's going on?'

"I got Keitaro but we're being chased and shot at, I need backup."

'I'm on it. I've got your location, we'll be there soon. I'll keep in contact, if anything changes let me know.'

"Right."

Mello turned onto another road and sped up.

_Dang…Kitsune's still on my tail, I've gotta get rid of him._

Just as he thought that, one of Kitsune's bullets hit his back tire and he swerved.

Mello swore, _I have to keep control, I can't stop._

'What happened?'

"He hit one of my tires but I've got it under control."

'We're coming as fast as we can.'

Kitsune shot again and hit Mello's other tire.

Mello let out a string of curse words; _I guess I have no choice._

"Keitaro, when I say to you need to jump off alright?"

"Ok."

'What?'

Mello ignored Matt, slowed down, and turned onto a deserted street.

"Alright…jump!"

Keitaro jumped off and immediately after Mello crashed into a brick wall.

"Mello!"

'Mello? …Mello come in…Mihael!'

Mello didn't move or respond. Keitaro tried to stand and run over but soon realized his leg was broken and fell back down. Kitsune pulled up, got off his motorcycle, and walked towards them, laughing cruelly. Keitaro glared at him as Mello pulled himself out from under the wreckage.

"You know…you almost made it. How tragic for you to be so close…and to have it ripped out from under you."

Mello pushed himself up, "shut up!"

"You were so close…but now I get to kill you…and the kid too."

"Leave Keitaro out of this, your problem is with me."

"Now, you know as well as I do I can't leave any witnesses."

"Look, do whatever the heck you want with me but leave the kid alone!"

Kitsune aimed his gun at Keitaro, "you know I could just shoot him right now…and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"I said leave him out of this!"

"You don't think I'm being nice? If I'm going to kill both of you anyway…wouldn't it be better for him to die first? Or do you think maybe he'd rather watch you die?"

Mello pulled out his gun and Kitsune shot it out of his hand, "aren't you having fun playing this game?"

Police sirens went off nearby and Kitsune swore.

"Whether you shoot us or not Kitsune you _will_ be arrested. You waited too long, they're almost here now."

Kitsune glared at Mello and shot him twice in the chest, "that oughtta shut you up…now for the kid."

Kitsune turned to Keitaro and shot him and ran to his motorcycle.

Matsuda pulled up in a police cruiser, jumped out, and shot Kitsune in the leg before he could reach his motorcycle. Then he pulled out his phone and called the hospital while Aizawa ran over and arrested Kitsune and Mogi went to check on Keitaro and Mello.

Kai ran over just as the ambulance pulled up and swore when he saw the EMTs put Keitaro on a stretcher.

_I have to see Keitaro's face…I have to see his lifespan, have to make sure he'll be alright._

Kai tried to run over but as he passed Zoe she grabbed him and held him back.

"Let me go!"

Zoe didn't say anything but kept her hold on him as they watched the EMTs load Keitaro and Mello into an ambulance and speed off. Zoe let go and Kai swore and glared at Kitsune in the back of the police cruiser. Kitsune made eye contact with Kai and smiled an insane, evil grin.

_Yeah, you can smile now, but I've seen your face and now I know your name. You're as good as dead Hotaru Matsumoto._

* * *

Kai paced restlessly in the waiting room.

"Kai, you're going to wear a rut into the floor…not to mention you're making me dizzy. Why don't you sit down?" Zoe asked.

Kai sighed heavily, "I can't just sit and wait."

"There's not much more that you can do."

Kai sighed again and rubbed his temples, "I'm gonna go get some air," he said and walked outside.

L stood to follow but Zoe put a hand on his shoulder, "I think he just needs to be left alone for now."

Matt walked over to L and Zoe and sighed, "Mello's dead, he died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."

Zoe stood and hugged Matt, "I'm so sorry Mail."

Kai walked over to a spot away from cameras and people and took out his earring.

_If there was ever a time for me to use this…_

He pulled the piece he had hidden out, pricked his finger, and wrote in his blood:

Hotaru Matsumoto

Dies of a heart attack 40 seconds after his arrest

is announced on the television.

Kai threw the piece in a puddle of water and watched it dissolve. Then he put his earring back in and walked back into the hospital waiting room.

As he walked back in a doctor entered the room, "are you the family of Keitaro Yagami?"

They all nodded and the doctor sighed, "I'm very sorry, we did everything we could but he didn't make it."

Kai stared blankly at him, _Keitaro's dead? This…this isn't possible…this can't be happening._

The doctor left the room and a cold emptiness came over Kai and he nearly collapsed. L and Zoe caught him and sat him in a nearby chair.

"I think he's in shock," Zoe said worriedly.

"No…no I'll be fine," Kai said quietly.

_I can't believe it…he's gone._


	25. Chapter 24

It was silent in the graveyard, other than the sound of the rain. Even Ryuk hadn't said anything…of course, that couldn't last.

'Watching humans grieve…that has to be the most pathetic thing I've ever seen…'and with that, he flew off, leaving Kai sitting in front of his brother's tombstone.

_So…that's it then…I'm totally, completely alone…_ Kai sighed and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the feeling of the rain stopped and he looked up to see Lorelai standing next to him, her blue umbrella shielding them both from the torrent.

"It's been raining for two hours Kai…and you've been out here for three…you should come back to headquarters."

Kai looked at her, all the normal emotions of hate and anger gone from his eyes, replaced by defeat and despair.

"You don't have to be out here," he said flatly.

Lorelai was silent for a moment, "yes, I do…someone has to show you you're not alone."

Kai looked down, unsure of how to respond.

Lorelai hesitated before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "please Kai."

Kai sighed again and slowly complied, standing and following her in complete silence back to headquarters.

* * *

L sighed as he stared out over the rain-blurred skyline of Tokyo.

"Well Light-kun…it seems I have failed to keep my word."

He walked over and sat in his chair and stared at the blank monitor that used to show the cell Light had been held in as he thought back to the promise he had made him all those years ago. The room had been dark and void of everyone but the reclusive detective, very much like it was now, but it hadn't been nearly as silent as there had been an audio feed as well as a video feed coming from the cell that held the world's most terrifying killer.

"_L…I know I'm in no position to be asking anything of you but…if anything happens to Melina…I want you to take care of Kai and Keitaro."_

_L stayed silent, deep in thought about what Light was saying._

_Light sighed and glanced up at the camera, "I know…there's no reason you should do this for me…but I just want to be sure they'll be safe."_

_L finally spoke, catching Light slightly off-guard, "in the event that something should happen to Melina…you have my word that I will protect Kai and Keitaro."_

_Light bowed his head in gratitude, "thank you."_

_Forty seconds later, Light Yagami died of a heart attack._

* * *

"What the heck do you mean he didn't show?" Zakuro shouted in anger and slapped her poor, terrified boyfriend.

Sato stared at her wide eyed, _I've never seen her like this_, he thought.

"I-I'm sorry!" He stammered, "he just never showed up! At least, I don't think he did, I didn't see anyone."

Zakuro grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him up until their faces were only inches apart, "you don't _think_?"

Sato gulped.

"Send him another message, make him come, alright? I don't care _how_ you do it, just do it!" With

that, Zakuro left her room, leaving Sato all alone, pale from fear.

Mono laughed, 'if he's that useless why don't you just kill the kid? And while you're at it why don't you just kill that other guy you're so eager to get rid of?'

Zakuro rolled her eyes, "in order; because I need him to meet up with the people who show, I'm sure as heck not going to be stupid enough to show myself, and because unlike him I'm smart enough that I don't want the police after me. If I get rid of him then the police will think Kira is gone and I can go about my business without them on my tail, at least for a while."

Mono laughed again, 'you think you've got this figured out don't you?'

"I _know_ I do. Now shut up."

* * *

"I imagine since no one showed up our informant will send us another message, most likely to Mello's account again. I've taken the liberty of setting his account to forward any incoming messages to myself considering recent developments," Near stated, sitting at a computer, twirling a lock of his hair.

L nodded and turned to Lorelai, "how is Kai doing?"

* * *

Kai lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, _I can't just lay here doing nothing for the rest of my life, I have to do something…_anything_…but I was doing this to protect Keitaro, at least partially…now that he's gone, what am I doing this for? What's the point?_

Kai sighed and pulled out his phone, _at least this'll give me something to keep my mind off of it…I wonder if whoever it was that sent the initial message will send another one, _Kai debated this for a while.

_Yeah, they probably will since no one showed up, I mean if they're that determined to tell them who they think Kira is…they'll probably send it to Mello's account again, I doubt they know he's dead. I'll bet Near set it up to forward to his account. Matt probably didn't. I know I wouldn't if I was him; it'd be too depressing to have mail forwarded from your dead best friend's account to your own. L probably didn't either, he wouldn't for security reasons._

Kai connected to the internet and hacked into Near's e-mail account with little difficulty, _for a detective he sure has low security._

He scanned through the messages, careful not to leave any trace that he'd been there, _hm…I'm not seeing anything that looks like it could be—oh wait! This one was just forwarded from Mello's account thirty seconds ago._

He clicked the message and read through it:

**I noticed you didn't show up to find out who Kira is so I'm going to give you another chance—but this is the last chance. If you want to know who Kira is, meet me at the Yellowbox Warehouse at 8 o'clock tonight. I'll be waiting.**

Kai frowned, _eight o'clock huh? That shouldn't be much of a problem. I'll just meet them there, find out who they are, and get rid of them. Now I just have to get rid of the message._

He marked the message as spam to make sure another wouldn't be received, then deleted it. Then he logged on to Mello's account and did the same, removed any trace of himself from both accounts, and turned off his phone.


	26. Chapter 25

Matsuda jumped suddenly from his chair and everyone turned to face him; half-panicked, half-expecting this sort of behavior from him.

"Kitsune—er—Hotaru Matsumoto is dead! He just dropped dead out of nowhere and the only place that aired his real name was the news program _La Sexta Noticias_ in Spain!"

"Yes, I specifically asked that no other news channels air it because I know Kai doesn't have access to it," L stated, turning back to face the monitors.

"Of course that doesn't disprove anything since we know Kira can specify the date and cause of death, but it doesn't increase the probability that Kai is Kira by any stretch of the imagination."

He paused to take a bite out of the donut sitting next to him.

"So what you're saying is that making sure only one news program aired his name was completely pointless?"

L glanced at Aizawa, "hm? No, not at all. Had he not been killed it would've increased Kai's chances by at least three percent."

* * *

Kai walked into the Yellowbox Warehouse just a minute before eight o' clock to find Satoshi already standing there.

_Well, this is definitely unexpected…then again, it's not like I've trusted him for a while…still I didn't think he'd sell me out, I just thought he'd kill me._

Satoshi looked over when the door shut and immediately looked panicked.

_Kai's here? Oh man…Zakuro's not gonna like this. It was supposed to be someone on the task force, how did _he_ find out about it?_

"So, Satoshi, you're the one who sold me out. I suppose if I'd thought about it I would have figured it out sooner. E-mailing was a stupid move on your part; you should know I can hack most everyone's accounts."

Satoshi's eyes flickered briefly from Kai to the place he knew Zakuro was hiding, unsure of what to do. Kai turned rather arrogantly towards where Satoshi's eyes had glanced—still being careful not to show his entire face to her as a precaution,

"whatever your name is, you can come out now. I know you're there and if you're waiting to write my name down in your Death Note it'll be easier to know my name if you can see my face clearly."

Zakuro stepped out of the shadows and joined Satoshi, pen poised over a page of the notebook.

"You must be Sato's girlfriend right? Alright, you got me, what now?"

Kai put his hands behind his back, making sure his hand was on the dial of his watch.

"Isn't it obvious? What do you _think_ is going to happen now? Now, I'm going to kill you, Yagami."

"What a shame, you could've been so helpful."

Zakuro barked out a laugh, "you think I'd help you? You're so stupid."

"Well obviously not," Kai pulled the dial thrice, releasing the compartment his father had configured.

"For one thing, I had no idea that you had the Shinigami eyes but you gave that away rather quickly because I tricked you into thinking I did know."

Zakuro scowled, completely oblivious to Kai's actions behind his back.

"For another, I was able to find out where you were meeting—granted that was a little easier considering the method of contact but still, not everyone can do that."

At that Zakuro hit Satoshi upside the head. Mono began laughing, stealing Zakuro's Death Note and throwing it at Kai's feet. Kai, having finished his deed, bent down to pick it up.

"And lastly, I was just able to stall you long enough to write both of your names down on a hidden piece of the Death Note _and_ gain custody of your Death Note."

Zakuro stood there gaping at them.

'I decided to go to the winning side, it's far more interesting,' Mono stated as Ryuk joined in his laughter.

Kai smirked, "I'd ask for last words but there isn't a lot you can say with five seconds left."

Kai turned to walk away, "such a shame, I do truly believe you both could've been helpful. Ah well, what can you do? Goodbye."

Zakuro Kanagawa

Suicide; goes with a third party to a secluded

area and hangs herself

Satoshi Mikami

Suicide; goes with a third party to a secluded

area and hangs himself


	27. Chapter 26

"Lorelai, I've been meaning to ask you something," L stated once he and his daughter were alone in the room.

Lorelai glanced over—it wasn't much of a reaction but he knew that she was listening.

"Why have you asked Matsuda-chan to help you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

No reaction whatsoever.

"I know I am getting old but I am not old enough to fall for a lie like that."

"What would make you think Kiyoko-chan was helping me?"

"I saw you two. You are aware that we have cameras installed throughout this building, correct?"

Lorelai blinked, "…oh. Well then, she wanted to help avenge Keitaro."

"She's been working with you for much longer than that."

"Wow you really have been meaning to talk to me for a while haven't you?"

L smiled slightly, "that one was just a guess."

Lorelai frowned, "not cool, dad."

* * *

Kiyoko brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and sighed as she watched the video feed. It hadn't been easy but she had found one of Kai's frequent "hideouts" and had placed a camera Matt had been working on building inside. Unfortunately, Matt had not managed to finish building it before she put it to use so the video was grainy and there was no audio.

_I could have gotten a better feed from my cell phone_, she thought as she watched Kai.

_Oh well, it's too late for that now, I'll have to make do with what I have to work with._

She zoomed the camera in to get a better view from under the pile of books where it was placed.

Kai tipped his chair backwards and sighed, he didn't like this. He had avenged his younger brother but that didn't seem to help at all—he was still questioning his motives and he wasn't enjoying that one bit. He had always been confident, so confident that it often turned to arrogance which had a habit of getting him in trouble. He glanced over at Ryuk and Mono who were off in the corner of the small room gambling with apples and various shiny objects Mono had managed to find. He had a brief fleeting feeling of worry when he realized the objects would be floating in mid-air to anyone other than himself who saw them but that quickly faded as his still terribly high confidence took over, affirming himself that no one could have located the abandoned room.

Kiyoko furrowed her eyebrows. Was it her imagination or were the objects in the corner of the room flying?

_Could they be insects? _She wondered. She didn't think so; one of them had the distinct shape of an apple.

_Didn't Ryuzaki-san mention something about Shinigami liking apples?_

They weren't moving much but she was almost certain they were, in fact, moving and they were definitely at least a few centimeters higher than they should be.

…_Maybe I should bring this to Lorelai-san…but is this enough to help?_

Kiyoko thought for a minute, then nodded to herself, downloaded the video file, and headed out to give it to Lorelai.

* * *

**Crap just got real...sorry about the super-late, super-lame update ^^' I'll be a better author in the future, I promise!**


	28. Chapter 27

"What do you _mean_ we're not arresting him tonight?!"

Lorelai slammed her hands on the table, nearly spilling her father's tea.

"I mean precisely that," L stated as he nimbly caught the cup before any of the contents could escape.

"Kai will likely not arrive until after midnight and as you can see," he gestured to the half-asleep task force, "we are not in the optimal state to arrest him."

He set the cup back where it was before and resumed his thinking position, "if we wait until tomorrow and act as though we haven't found anything, judging from his recklessness tonight, he is 15% more likely to slip up within the next few hours and give us more solid evidence against him."

"Where did you get this video anyway?" Matsuda asked as he pressed closer to the monitor as though doing so would make things clearer for his sleep-deprived eyes.

"Ah…that's not important, Matsuda-san," Lorelai stated, hoping he was too tired to press further. As luck would have it, he was. L glanced at his daughter as if to say 'you're going to have to tell him anyway'. Lorelai decidedly ignored him.

* * *

Kai arrived at headquarters well after midnight, a bit surprised to see that L had actually allowed everyone else to fall asleep while he continued working. He headed to his room while Mono and Ryuk stayed behind—Mono transfixed by the shiny monitors and Ryuk hoping to find something entertaining. Minutes later, Ryuk and Mono entered Kai's room, both very clearly amused by something.

"What?" Kai asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Ryuk laughed, 'don't get too comfortable, Kai.'

Kai scowled, "what do you mean by that?"

'Did you know that L knows Shinigami like apples?' Ryuk laughed again.

"What kind of question is—what did you do?!"

Ryuk only laughed harder and Mono joined in.

"What did you idiotic Shinigami do?"

Kai glared at them.

'I wouldn't be so quick to insult, kid. We didn't do anything—you really ought to be more careful,' Mono said, snickering.

"What are you talking about?"

'That depends, what are you willing to pay for the information?' Mono asked, grinning disturbingly.

Kai rolled his eyes, "what do you want?"

Mono rifled through Kai's things before apparently having found something to satisfy his desire for shiny things to distract him.

"Alright, you found something; now what the heck did you find out?"

Mono reclined in the air and played with the trinket, 'apparently that L guy has a video of Ryuk and me gambling in that hideout of yours.'

Kai's eyes widened and he swore.

_If he has a video of that then I'm definitely going to be arrested. I suppose that explains why the rest of the task force is sleeping, but if he didn't arrest me on sight then the video probably isn't too incriminating. If I left before tomorrow it would look way too suspicious…but I don't have anyone to act as Kira when I'm arrested. Unless…_Kai looked at Mono and Ryuk.

"Hey, Mono, you like my watch and earring right?"

He held up his wrist, letting the expensive watch catch the light. Mono's eyes widened and he reached for it.

Kai pulled his arm back, "not yet. You want this, you're gonna have to work for it. Same goes for the earring."

He moved away as Mono reached for that as well.

Mono frowned, 'ugh, fine, kid. What do you want me to do?'

"I'm going to be arrested tomorrow; I need you to act as Kira while I'm in confinement."

'Yeah, yeah, I hear ya, act as Kira, sure, whatever; now give me the shiny!'

Kai rolled his eyes and removed his watch and earring.

Ryuk gave Mono an exasperated look, 'you give up too easily.'

Kai snickered, "hey, Ryuk. I'll bet you a whole orchard of apples that L will figure out it's you and Mono if you both act as Kira."

'What? You gotta be kidding, there's no way he'd figure that out! And where is this orchard anyway?'

"Tell you what; when I get out I'll show you—but that means the two of you have to make a convincing Kira."

'Alright, fine, I get it. We're Kira and then I get my apples.'

Kai smirked and reclined on his bed.


End file.
